Life Beyond The Horde
by The Rainbow Shaka-Brah
Summary: After the Battle of Bright Moon, Adora slowly adjusts to what life is really like outside the clutches of The Horde, but it's not without its challenges. Besides, who said being the Princess of Power would be easy?
1. More Than One Type of Scar

Adora sighed as she stumbled back into her room, sore from being battered around in the fight her, Bow and Glimmer just came from. It had only been a few weeks since The Battle of Brightmoon, and the Horde already decided to launch another attack on a nearby village. Thankfully the alliance was able to defend the village with hardly any problem, but still, it took a lot out of Adora, especially since she was still recovering from her last confrontation with Catra.

Now that was something she hated thinking about, how Catra had so mercilessly attacked her, the girl she grew up alongside was ready to kill her without a second thought. It hurt, of course, almost as much as the deep gashes Catra had left on her back, that still stung and bled when she overexerted herself.

Surprisingly, she was able to hide her injury from Glimmer and Bow, her time in the Horde giving her the ability to effectively hide any and all forms of weakness. But the still healing wounds were barely starting to scab over and become scars, meaning that every time Adora moved to much or a certain way, she risked re-injuring herself. And more often than not, at the end of the day, she'd find the inside of her shirts stained dark red with dried blood.

"Damn it," Adora cursed to herself, wincing as she threw herself on her bed.

It was getting harder and harder to hide the pain, let alone the blood-stained clothes, but Adora wasn't the type to outright ask for help, and besides, if she were to go to her friends, they'd probably be less than happy that she'd hidden a somewhat severe injury from them, endangering only herself with the lie.

"Ugh, why do I have to be so stubborn?" she muttered, pressing the palms of her hands against her forehead as she sighed.

Adora had a few hours to herself before she needed to meet up with Glimmer again, both of them planning to go explore the outer reaches of the kingdom, Glimmer dead set on showing her all the wonders of Brightmoon. She could last until then, and besides, any time she spent with Glimmer was far too enjoyable to even think about pain.

But for now, Adora was left with very few options of what to do with her time. One, she could just wait for Glimmer to finish whatever it was she was doing at the moment, or, and this was her least favorite option, Adora could redress the wounds on her back. The bandages needed to be switched out anyway, but she usually did that once she was sure everyone in the castle was asleep and she was alone.

It was a difficult task, especially to do alone, but she managed fairly well on her own, even if she did do a shoddy job.

The Horde hadn't bothered giving her basic medical training, she never needed it really. If you got hurt during boot camp or training, you were expected to suck it up and deal, the marks of a strong resilient soldier, and if you were to get hurt badly, beyond a scraped knee or twisted ankle, you were kicked from the program, and as far as Adora knew… you were shunned by the residents of the Fright Zone.

She shook her head, not wanting to think about the horrors of the Horde anymore than she needed to. So Adora sighed and sat back up, deciding that she'd rather get it over with now than later. "Alright… let's just do this now so I can think of something else," she muttered again, slowly pulling herself up. Adora honestly wasn't sure how she managed to collect all the medical supplies she had, especially since the guards were still highly suspicious of her, but with a decent supply of gauze and some sort of healing herb mix she got from Perfuma, she was sure that she had enough items to get herself through the injury.

It didn't take too long for Adora to undo the gauze she's wrapped around her back, making sure the scratches themselves weren't getting infected or anything. But thank the gods they weren't, and the flesh surrounding the gashes were no longer an angry red, but a more relaxed, normal looking pink.

"See… you're going to be okay," Adora muttered to herself, wincing when she traced a finger alongside the healing skin, not really knowing why tears were beginning to form in her eyes, "You have to be,".

So maybe she was lying when she said that the scratches hurt more that Catra's actions, but Adora didn't want them to.

Catra made her choice, and Adora made hers.

Light Hope had made it clear… she needed to let go of Catra, she needed to let go of the one thing that was preventing her from moving on from her life in the Horde.

And it hurt.

So badly she wanted for Catra to join her with the rebellion, but no. Her friend's loyalties lied elsewhere, and there was nothing Adora could do about it… just continue to drive the girl who had once been her best friend away.

Adora very rarely cried during her life in the Horde, she hardly allowed herself to feel actual emotions, so the onslaught of feelings she was experiencing was overwhelming, to say the least. So, unsure of what to do or how to handle her emotions, Adora just let them run their course, hoping that she'd relax by the time she needed to meet up with Glimmer.

"I'll be okay," Adora continued through a soft sob of tears, "It's okay".

But she knew it wasn't.

* * *

By the time Glimmer knocked on the door to her room, Adora had recovered from her emotional breakdown, but it had already taken it's toll, making her feel almost numb and tired.

"You okay?".

She nodded and sighed slightly, putting on a fake smile, "Yeah… just a little tired from the fight,".

It wasn't exactly a lie… but it wasn't the truth either.

"We can stay in the castle if you're not feeling up to going out," Glimmer offered, walking up to her friend only to have her step away slightly.

"I'll be fine… maybe some fresh air will help," Adora said, silently cursing at herself for being so distant and cold to the people who were just trying to help her and be nice, "Uh, and you said you'd show me what a bakery is, so can we maybe go do that?".

"Oh! Right, do you wanna go now or-".

"We can go now if that's okay," she continued, trying not to seem so rushed and anxious, "Just let me get my jacket,".

"Adora, are you sure you're okay? You seem a little… antsy, ".

"I'm fine,".

Another lie.

"If you say so," Glimmer said, seeming suspicious, but not enough to continue prying, "Come on, let's go show you the pastries, you'll love them".

Adora nodded, following Glimmer as they left the room and walked through the long halls of the castle. The guards watched her closely as always, demanding to know where 'The Horde Soldier' as they not so kindly called her, was taking the princess.

"We're just going out for a bit," Glimmer reassured, already annoyed at the guard's lack of respect and trust for Adora, "No need to worry,"

"We'll send someone to escort you around," one of the guards said, "I don't want to take any risks,".

"Risks?!" Glimmer exclaims, "What risks?!".

Adora remained quiet, already knowing where this conversation was headed and looked down in something close to shame.

"Princess, we know you consider this girl your 'friend' but she is still from the Horde, and there's no telling if this is all an act and she's planning to take us out from the inside. You can't trust her,".

That stung a little more than Adora liked to admit and she couldn't help but let out a small whimper. Brightmoon could trust her… she did help protect the Moon Stone from the Horde attacks and she's done nothing to make anyone not trust her except… exist she guessed.

Glimmer noticed the look on Adora's face, of course, felt the need to protect her friend.

"You do know my mother is the Queen right? And if you continue to harass my friends I might just have a word with her about your jobs,".

"Glimmer," Adora whispered, seriously not wanting her friend to abuse her power just to protect her, "It's okay, really,".

"No, it's not. I'm not going to let people bully you like this," she said, trying to offer up a warm smile but the look of utter discomfort that filled Adora's eyes told her to back off. Glimmer turned back to the guards and practically growls at them. "Just leave us alone," she hissed before grabbing Adora by the shoulders and teleporting out of the castle.

They both appeared out in front of the castle a few moments later, out of sights from any of the guards. "I don't know what their problem is," she said with a tired sigh, "But I doubt they'll be bothering us again. Now come on, let's get out of here before-... Adora? Are you okay?".

At first, Adora wasn't sure what Glimmer was asking about, the fact that she was hobbled over in pain from being grabbed by the back so suddenly, or the fact that a few tears had shed from her eyes.

"I'm okay…".

"Are you sure?" Glimmer said, softly, placing a gentle hand on her arm, "You don't look okay,".

"I- I am,".

Adora hated it when her voice shook like that… it made her feel weak. And she hated lying to her friends, especially Glimmer, it always left her feeling sick to her stomach, but for now, she just needed to deal with it.

"Can we just… go to the bakery, please. I- I don't want to talk about it,".

Glimmer sighed and nodded, "Yeah, of course. Just… promise you'll tell me if something is wrong?".

Adora couldn't even bring herself to give a verbal answer she just looked over at Glimmer and gave a small nod, recollecting herself before beginning to walk off towards the small village surrounding the castle.

Glimmer just walked beside her silently as they made their way through the kingdom, occasionally catching odd looks from people as they passed which Adora desperately tried to ignore. It wasn't their fault for staring… for some reason, The Princess of Brightmoon was hanging around a Horde soldier, former or not, who's army killed her father years earlier.

Adora didn't even know if Glimmer was aware that her mother had told her of King Micah's demise, she wasn't sure if she even wanted Glimmer to know what she knew.

She didn't even want to think about the 'almost' threat Angella had made her first night in the castle, the Queen's words still rang in her head at times and sent a sharp shiver down her spine.

 _"Do not disappoint her"_

That was the last thing Adora wanted to do… disappoint her friends, or anyone really. Having grown up in a place where any form of failure was cause for punishment, she always drove herself to do her best. But now, with the added responsibility of She-Ra and the Rebellion on her shoulders, Adora was afraid that her best was no longer good enough.

Either everyone saw her as a threat, or as a joke….

But in reality, all Adora really was was just a small, scared kid, overwhelmed with emotions and the world around her, plagued by pain and nightmares of her former self and life.

The pain in her heart was proof of leaving her old life behind, and the scars on her back were proof of the life she chose to live.

It was times like these that Adora wished she could tune out her thoughts, annoyed at how persistent and intrusive they were all the time.

She shook her head and grumbled as she focused on the ground in front of her, barely noticing Glimmer teleporting in front of her until she ran into her.

"Are you even listening?".

Adora blinked and took a step back, "What?".

"I was talking to you and you were just… completely out of it," she said, sounding more concerned than annoyed, "Are you sure you're okay?".

Every instinct in Adora's body was telling her to just say no, she wasn't sure if she was okay… and if she were being honest, she wasn't really sure what would be considered 'okay' anymore.

But she nodded instead.

"Yeah… just distracted,".

The look on Glimmer's face told her that she didn't believe her.

At all.

"Oh, and you've been 'distracted' for the past 6 days? Adora, I'm not stupid, I know you're hiding something. You might be a highly trained combat officer, but you're a pretty bad liar".

Immediately, Adora dropped her gaze to the ground… again.

"I never said you were stupid," she muttered, almost defensively, "And I'm not hiding anything… I'm just tired,".

"Then you need to rest,".

She could tell that Glimmer was beginning to get annoyed with her stubbornness, but… like always, Adora wasn't one to back down so easily.

"I don't want to,".

There was a moment of silence that fell between them, the only thing to be heard was the villagers moving and talking around them.

She hated this… she hated arguing with the one person who seemed to give her life in the rebellion any true meaning.

"You're having nightmares again… aren't you?" Glimmer asked, her voice low.

Adora didn't respond, keeping her jaw squared.

She just needed to be strong, Glimmer would drop the matter and everything would be okay.

"Why didn't you say anything? I told you-you could come to me and Bow for help, we're your friends! That's what we're here for, Adora,"

"I… I know,".

"If you knew then why didn't you come to us".

Adora paused for a moment and blinked.

"I don't know…".

"So you know, but you don't know?!" Glimmer groaned, dragging a hand across her face, "Why are you being so stubborn!".

"I don't know okay!" Adora yelled back, finding herself losing her grip on her calm persona.

Everything hurt. The gashes on her back hurt, her head hurt, her chest hurt, everything was just wrong.

"I don't know what's wrong with me, I just… I don't know what to do anymore, Glimmer".

Glimmer's expression changes again, worry and concern filling her features, but before either girl could say anything more, a passing guard walked up to their conversation.

"Is there a problem here, Princess?" The guard asked, immediately placing her drawn sword between them and slowly moving Adora away from Glimmer, "Is she bothering you?".

"No, nothing's wrong! Uhg, can you guys ever let me have a normal conversation with my friend?" Glimmer snapped.

"You were both yelling, that doesn't seem like a very normal conversation to me,".

"Well sometimes friends yell at each other," she continues, looking to Adora who had gone stiff with the sword pointed at her, "so put that thing away and stop harassing my friends".

The guard doesn't cooperate at first, giving Adora a harsh look that she merely crumbles under before sheathing her sword and walking off, "Just doing my job, ma'am".

"Sure you are," Glimmer muttered, before turning back to Adora, "I really don't know what's gotten into them today, I just-... Adora?".

But Adora could barely even hear Glimmer, she felt frozen in place, unable to move, think... or breathe. She could see her friend standing in front of her, calling her name and shaking her by the arms in an attempt to get her attention, but Adora couldn't do anything about it. She was stuck, and without even realizing it, Glimmer teleported them again, this time into the surrounding woods around the castle.

"Adora… Adora! What happened, what's wrong?! Talk to me!".

Adora wasn't sure if she could talk even if she wanted to, she just looked down at Glimmer, desperate and afraid, tears once again filling her eyes.

She shook her head and choked out a sob.

This was probably the first time Glimmer had ever seen her cry, probably the first person ever to see her cry, but Adora could care less… all she wanted was for everything to stop.

"Adora…" Glimmer whispered, barely having time to catch her as she sunk to the ground, overwhelmed with tears and sobs, "Please… tell me what's wrong. I want to help,".

"I don't know what's wrong," Adora admitted, gladly collapsing into her friend's embrace.

"Then why are you crying?".

She just shrugged again, gripping onto Glimmer as tightly as she could without hurting the other girl. But Glimmer didn't seem to mind, and she allowed Adora to hug her, refraining from doing so herself in fear of making her feel restrained.

"I don't know… but I want it to stop…"

"Hey… shh, it's okay, I'm right here, Adora. You're okay," Glimmer cooed, doing her best to get her friend to relax and explain the situation, "It'll pass, Adora… just take a deep breathe okay? Can you do that?".

Adora tried, but catching her breath was a little bit hard to do when you're heaving out heavy sobs every other second.

"Easy, easy… here, focus on me for a second, okay?".

Glimmer took old of Adora's hand, placing it over her heart.

"Can you feel that? I want you to focus on my heartbeat, alright? It'll help you calm down,".

Adora nodded and took a sharp breath, leaning her forehead against Glimmer's as she tried her best to steady her breathing.

"You're doing a great job, Adora. You're going to be okay, I'm right here with you,".

She sniffled slightly and muttered a small 'thank you'.

Glimmer's heartbeat was strong, a little bit faster than it should be normally, but it was there, and she could feel it… it was grounding, and calming all at the same time.

Adora took a deep breath.

"There we go… see? You're doing fine, everything is fine,".

She wasn't really sure if that was true per se, but Adora really wanted everything to be okay.

When she was with Glimmer, everything was okay.

Everything about Glimmer made her feel better.

She made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

So she focused on that too.

And whatever that feeling was… Adora didn't want it to stop.

* * *

It took a while, but Adora eventually relaxed enough for her sobs to turn into nothing more than tiny hiccups and sniffles.

"Are you okay now?" Glimmer asked, giving her hand a squeeze.

She nodded, still not sure if she had the strength to speak yet.

Glimmer sighed a little, running her fingers through her sparkly hair.

"Can I ask you what happened? Did what the guards say get to you that much?".

Adora just shrugged and silently picked at the grass underneath her.

"Because if that's the case, I'll gladly make sure they're fired for harassing you. You aren't a threat to anyone here in Bright Moon, you understand that… don't you?".

"I… I know," she said, "But I don't blame them for being suspicious,".

"Then you're crazy. Adora… nothing you've done since you defected has made anyone suspicious of you. The symbol on your old shirt was what people were afraid of, not you," Glimmer said.

"But..".

"No. No buts. You aren't the Horde Adora, you never were… you didn't know what your army was doing was bad, and no one is blaming you for that,".

"You did… when we first met," Adora whispered quietly, regretting the words the moment the left her lips.

"I know… and I hate myself for jumping to conclusions like that. I won't make any excuses for myself, I was a jerk to you when we first met, and call me a hypocrite but I saw that symbol on your back and was angry and afraid of you. But… you were different, you never once wanted to hurt us, ever. No Horde soldier I'd ever seen or met had the compassion you do. And when you helped fight Catra and the Horde off… I knew Bow and I could trust you,".

Adora smiled, forcing it halfway at the mention of Catra, but she knew Glimmer was being genuine with her words.

"Thank you for trusting me, Glimmer, I don't know what I'd do without you".

"Neither do I,".

Adora was unsure why her heart started pounding wildly in her chest suddenly when Glimmer smiled at her, she'd calmed down a lot by then, but that warm fuzzy feeling returned, now with a sense of nervousness.

"Do you wanna go back home or stay out here for a while?" Glimmer asked, "It's actually nice out here in the forest,".

"You mean when we weren't being chased by giant bug monsters or caught in a weird mega-storm?".

She giggles and nods, "Plus… it's just us today,".

Adora hummed a little and continued to pick at the grass.

"Where did you say Bow went?".

"Home… he may be part of the rebellion, but he still has his dads to help out. Plus we could all use a bit of a break after today's battle,".

"Y- yeah… I know what you mean,".

"You alright?".

"I-..." Adora began, pausing for a moment before sighing, "No… not really,".

Glimmer clearly tried not to look too surprised, but nonetheless, her voice filled with concern yet again.

"Can I ask why?".

She closed her eyes for a second, trying to think of the easiest way to tell her best friend that she'd been lying to her about being seriously hurt. Maybe, she thought, she should just start from the beginning.

Adora took another breath.

"C- Catra,".

"I can't even imagine how hard it must be seeing her like that… having to fight her. I'm… I'm really sorry you have to go through that, Adora".

She shook her head a little.

"She… hurt me, Glimmer,".

"I know," the other girl said, scooting slightly closer and pressing her cheek against Adora's shoulder, "She was your best friend, and now...".

"N- no… Glimmer. She hurt me, I'm hurt,".

Glimmer pulled away suddenly, "What? Are you telling me you're injured, like… right now as we speak?".

Adora nodded slowly.

"... Yes?".

It was clear that Glimmer wanted to get upset again, but she kept her cool, mostly for Adora's sake.

"When where you planning on telling me, or Bow… or anyone?!".

"I… I wasn't. Not until I healed," she admitted.

Glimmer just sighed again… sounding… disappointed.

"Where?".

"Huh?".

"Where did she hurt you? If it's not too serious, I won't drag you to a healer or anything,".

"Oh, um… s- she uh, she gashed up my back pretty good, but I'm okay. It's already starting to heal already?".

"How… it's barely been a few hours, and last you told me, you still haven't been able to activate your healing powers".

"I… I wasn't hurt today, Glimmer," Adora muttered.

The other girl just stared at her and Adora felt herself shrinking back.

"When…".

"I… I shouldn't have said anything, I-".

"I'm not upset… not entirely," Glimmer admitted, "Just tell me when she did this to you,".

She took a deep breath and tried not to let tears fill her eyes again.

"Bright Moon".

"Bright Moon? … as in?".

Adora just nodded.

"Yeah,".

"That was almost a month ago, Adora,".

"I know… I've sorta been trying to patch myself up so I wouldn't worry anyone,".

"I strongly believe that I'm twice as worried about you now that I probably would have if you'd've told me right away,".

"I'm sorry,".

"You don't have to apologize, Adora," Glimmer reassured, "I just, *sigh* How… how _bad_ is it?".

"It's not infected or anything if that's what you're asking," Adora replied with a sigh, "But It hurts a lot sometimes… and… bleeds if I overdo it,".

"Oh, Adora…".

"I- it's okay, I got some healing herb stuff from Perfuma, she said it should help,".

"Wait… so you told Perfuma you were hurt and not us?".

"No! No… I… I told her I needed it in case anyone of you got hurt… so I'd be able to help them since I don't have any healing powers yet,".

Glimmer just stared at her for a second and cracked a small smile.

"Is this because I got a paper cut that one day?".

"Yes- No! I- I mean-".

She chuckled and smiled, "I'm just teasing you,".

"Oh.. heh, yeah…".

Another moment of silence passed before Glimmer reached over and placed a hand on Adora's knee. "I need you to tell me, and no lying or.. Half-truths, but… do you need help? Like… do you want me to take you to a healer?".

Adora hesitated to answer at first, not really sure what she should respond with.

"You've never been to a healer… have you?".

She shook her head, "No… I've never really gotten seriously injured, just simple stuff like a sprained wrist and ankle, not… not a gashed up back,".

"Not even when you had the flu?".

"Like I said… in the Horde, you have to keep a low profile when you're weak. Besides, even if I was sick Shadow Weaver would make us train harder, strengthen our immune systems or something...".

"I'm sorry…".

"It's okay… just a lot to think about,".

"Do you want a hug?" Glimmer offered with another small smile.

"That would be really nice actually," Adora said, gently letting herself be folded into her friends caring embrace once again.

Neither of them said anything, which seemed to be a common thing between both girls, but Adora enjoyed it… and wondered if Glimmer felt the same way.

Maybe this was what love felt like.


	2. Memories of Things Forgotten

Glimmer couldn't help but flinch when she heard the ecstatic knocking on her bedroom door, only acknowledging it with a sigh before teleporting to let whoever was on the other side in. She barely had time to open the door before Bow pushed his way inside and nearly tackled her princess to the ground.

"Glimmer! I heard what happened to Adora, is she okay? What happened, where is she?!".

Of course, Glimmer couldn't help but smile, she knew Bow cared deeply for each and every one of his friends, but the knowledge that Adora was too scared to confront them about her injury brought a sour expression back to her face.

"Oh, hello to you too, Bow!" She teased slightly with a sigh, "She's asleep right now, thank the gods…the healer had to give her something for the pain and it kinda knocked her out".

"That bad, huh?".

Glimmer could only nod, staring off into the distance. "Yeah… it was bad. A bit worse than she let on, but the healer said she'd be fine in a few weeks,".

Bow looked down at her and frowned, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "You okay?".

A small, tasteless laugh forced its way through Glimmer's lips as she shook her head, "Not at all,"

Immediately, Bow wrapped his arms around his friend, offering up as much comfort as he could muster, "It'll be okay, Glimmer. Adora's strong, and so are you… you'll get through this,".

She sighed a little and nodded, hugging the boy back, "Thanks... and I really hope you're right… I've just never seen Adora act like that. She was… really scared, Bow,".

"I know… but it's normal, after what she's been through, I can't really blame her for reacting like that,".

Glimmer pulled away and blinked, "What do you mean?".

He sighs and gestures to the bench placed against the windows, "Let's sit down first okay... ".

Glimmer could only nod and fight off the wave of utter concern that washed over her. Had Adora told Bow something and not her? What else didn't she know about her friend that others did? Did something else happen to Adora and she'd just discovering it now?

"What did you mean by that, Bow… what happened to Adora that you aren't telling me?".

"Nothing like her injury if that's what you're asking," Bow reassured, "Just… right before the rest of the princesses showed up during the whole Battle of Bright Moon, when you were helping defend the Moon Stone, She-Ra nearly got captured, but Nettossa, Spinderella and I were able to get to her before Catra and the Hordesmen hurt her anymore. She… looked tired, she was fighting so hard but… at that moment, she just looked defeated. I asked her if there was a way for us to fix everything that happened if we could still win and she just… apologized,".

"What?".

"She was ready to give up, she thought she wasn't strong enough… and now that we know about her injury, it makes a little more sense but… she felt like she'd failed us Glimmer. I think that was the most vulnerable I'd ever seen her, and even I have to admit it was a little disheartening to see her like that,".

Glimmer can't help but whimper a bit, "I- I should have been there,".

"Don't start that, Glimmer. You needed to help your mom…".

"But still… I should have been there. She needed me,".

"She needs you now too, Glimmer," Bow said, "She needs us all,".

"I- I know… I just… I'm so scared for her," she admitted, "The guards keep harassing her and she just… she seems lost, Bow. like she doesn't know how to handle her emotions or understand what they mean,".

"Then we'll help her,".

"Do you really think she'll let us? I mean, I know she trusts us, but… she grew up thinking that asking for help means you're weak, and I think that's the last thing Adora wants to do,".

Bow opened his mouth as if to protest, but closed it with a nod, "Yeah, actually. You're probably right,".

Neither friend said anything for a moment.

"I… I can't stop thinking about all the horrible things she had to deal with growing up," Glimmer continued suddenly, "How much the Horde hurt and abused her. I don't think she understands what it means to… to have a family, at least a healthy one".

"I know… I don't even want to think about what it feels like not knowing who my parents are or where I came from,".

"Just think about what, Adora feels like,".

"... do you think?".

"I honestly wouldn't put it above the Horde to take a child, but I really hope that's not the case," she muttered, pulling her knees to her chest, "For all we know she could have parents out there… looking for her,".

Bow nodded a little and looked around the room for a moment, "You really care about her… don't you?".

Glimmer nodded, "Of course! Adora is one of my best friends… I'd do anything for her. I just wish I knew what that was,".

"Well, you're taking care of her right now, Glimmer, that's what she really needs at the moment,".

"But what about later? How are we supposed to help her get through the fact that her former best friend tried to kill her… multiple times, or how the healer basically had to sew her back together, or how the guards aren't going to hurt her, or-or…" Glimmer wasn't even aware of the tears filling her eyes until she was already crying, "Or how the things she sees in her nightmares aren't really going to hurt her… or us?".

"Be there for her, Glimmer, " Bow said, offering another hug to his friend, "Be a shoulder to cry on, lend an ear when she needs to talk and... just be her friend. I think that's what she the most right now, just a stable home environment, and friends who are there for her no matter what,".

She nodded a little and sighed, sniffling softly, "I know… I just… wish I could do more. I wanna take all her pain away, Bow… is that weird?".

"Not at all," he replied, giving his friend a light squeeze, "But I guess that means you _really_ care about her huh?".

"You already said that... ", Glimmer said looking up at Bow who only smiled widely and gave her a knowing smile, "Wait….".

"I told you I knew you liked her,".

She scoffed slightly and gave him a punch on the arm, "Bow!".

"What? You're my best friend so of course I'd notice when you have a crush on someone,".

"It's not a crush,".

"Sure it's not…".

Glimmer smiled and stuck her tongue out at Bow, unable to hold back a laugh.

"You suck, I'm trying to be subtle,".

"Glimmer you're anything but subtle," Bow tease, poking his elbow softly into the princess's side.

She laughed again, "Come on… I don't even thing Adora's really aware of what crushes and romance are… I mean, maybe she had something going on with Catra, but now I'm worried that their relationship has given her the wrong idea about what love is,".

"Oh! So now you're talking about love?".

"Alright, you've teased long enough," Glimmer said, grabbing Bow and ruffling his hair, "Are you going to stay with us tonight or are you going to go back home? I know you're dads needed you today".

"Dads said I can stay here for a while longer… at least until we know that Adora's going to be okay. Besides, if they need me, they'll send for me,".

Gimmer hummed a bit, pulling away with another sigh, "Wanna go get your stuff for a sleepover? The staff said dinner should be ready in soon,".

"Sure… you'll be okay until I get back?".

"Yeah… I need to check on Adora anyways,".

"Where is she, I'd think you'd be watching over her like a hawk,".

Glimmer simply points up to her bed where Adora was sleeping and smiles, "I am,".

"Wait… so she heard that whole conversation?!".

"She's asleep Bow, whatever the healer gave her knocked her out good, she barely even noticed Swift Wind carrying her back to the castle,".

Still, the boy looked slightly skeptical, "Well, if she heard us, you're the one who's going to have to explain what a crush is if she doesn't already know,".

Glimmer rolled her eyes and watched as Bow got up to retrieve his stuff, "Just hurry back, okay?".

He nodded and smiled again before disappearing out the door.

* * *

Once Bow was gone, Glimmer teleported up to her bed, sighing in relief when she saw Adora still sound asleep at the foot of her bed, curled up in a small ball. She was snoring softly, not nearly as bad as Bow did, her chest rising and falling in a rhythmic pattern. For once Adora seemed to be at peace as she slept, which was a rare occurrence considering her frequent nightmares.

"Adora…" Glimmer whispered softly, running her knuckles over the other girl's cheek, "Are you awake? It's almost time for us to go have dinner, you should try and eat something… you've been asleep all day,".

Adora stirred slightly, her eyes fluttering open and focusing on Glimmer for a moment. "Huh?" she muttered, slurring her words a bit, "What time is it?".

"It's almost sundown," Glimmer replied, "Do you remember what happened this morning?".

She took a moment to respond, having started to nod off again, "Not really…it's kinda… fuzzy,".

"Do you remember going to the healer?".

Adora nodded.

"Do you remember what happened after that?" Glimmer continued.

Adora shook her head, pulling her arms tightly around herself and whimpered slightly, "Where am I?".

"You're back in the castle...my room to be exact. You okay?".

"Hurts," was her only response.

"I know… the healer had to uh… give you a few stitches just to make sure you'd heal up just right, you'll be better in a few weeks,".

She paused for a moment before reaching over and touching the heavy bandaging around her back, wincing as a result.

"Easy, don't mess with them okay? You're going to be out of commision for a while, you need time to heal,".

Adora grumbles at that and nods, surprisingly understanding of the situation.

"How do you feel?".

"Tired… sore… just kinda, out of it, if that makes sense?".

Glimmer nodded, "Yeah… you were in and out of consciousness for a few hours,".

She nods and sighs again, "How long was I asleep for?.

"Most of the day, but the healer said it was normal. You should rest as much as you can until you're better,"

Adora was silent for a moment, staring blankly off into open.

"Adora?".

"How many…" she finally said.

Glimmer blinked, "How many what?".

"Stitches…".

Of course, the princess hesitated, not really sure how to tell her friend how bad her injuries really were.

"Glimmer… you can tell me," Adora whispered drowsily, sitting up slightly and trying her best to offer an encouraging smile, "I'll be okay,".

She sighed softly and nodded, taking hold of her friend's hand, intertwining their fingers together.

"23, you needed 23 stitches".

The intense moment of shock that dawns on Adora's face is enough to make Glimmer want to cry, she looks hurt, angry, scared and distraught all at the same time. She opens her mouth to say something but no words follow.

"Adora...".

"I…" she began, blinking a few times before focusing on Glimmer again, "I think I need to lay down again,".

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-...".

"Don't apologize, Glimmer, I just… I- I need a second to process this… I… was it really that bad?".

She nodded, "Yeah… or so I'm told".

"I swear I wasn't lying about how bad it was… it looked fine from my point of view,".

Glimmer smiled softly and squeezed her friend's hand before pulling away, "I know… but I take it you've had stitches before then?".

Adora nodded and flopped back down, "I busted my lip training once… surprisingly got medical attention for that. I guess… I guess Shadow Weaver...-".

Glimmer looked down at her friend curiously, watching as a spaced-out look took residence on her face. "Talk to me… what are you thinking about?".

The other girl shook her head and tried to bury her face in the pillows and sheets beneath her, a small whimper escaping her throat again. "It's nothing… just… thoughts,".

"Do you wanna talk about it? What were you going to say?".

Adora shook her head again, "It's not important… y- you can go ahead and eat without me, I'm not that hungry. I think I just want to sleep some more if that's okay".

Glimmer knew better than to push Adora for a positive response given the occurrences of earlier that day. "Okay… I'll let you rest. Just… if you need to talk, Bow and I are here to listen, understand?".

She nodded and grumbled a bit, "I know, Glimmer… it's just hard to talk sometimes, especially about the Horde and… _them_ ,".

"I know… you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. Just know you always an come to us about anything you're curious or worried about, okay?".

"Okay…" Adora muttered, forcing a small smile which Glimmer tried to return.

"Bow's here, by the way, he wanted to make sure you were okay,".

That brings a small smile to her face, "I thought I heard him…".

Glimmer felt her face go red, hoping to the gods that Adora hadn't heard their conversation about feelings and crushes. "You heard us talking?" she asked timidly.

"Not really… just heard voices, I couldn't really make out what you were saying. Why?".

"No reason…" she said, not sure if she should sigh with relief, "We'll save some food for you in case you get hungry later okay?".

Adora nodded again and curled back up against the mattress, "Okay…".

"You know where to find us if you need anything,".

She nodded again and sighed softly, "I know…".

Glimmer smiled softly, tempted to give the other girl a comforting hug, but she refrained herself overdoing it with affection, now wanting to baby her.

"Alright… I'll leave you be now," she said, "Sleep well,".

"I'll try," Adora replied, watching as Glimmer teleported off the bed and to the ground near the door, "And Glimmer?".

"Yeah?".

"... Thank you for helping me, it means a lot knowing you guys care".

That brought a smile to Glimmer's face, one she hoped Adora could see.

"That's what we're here for, Adora," she said softly before stepping out into the quiet hallway, "That's what I'm here for".

* * *

Glimmer wasn't sure what woke her up in the middle of the night, but she was awake, and oddly enough, alone in her bed.

Adora was gone, her blanket and pillow were still there, and a small plush animal of Glimmer's she'd apparently taken possession of.

Of course, the princess sat up alarmed, unsure of where her friend went.

"Adora?".

The room was silent for a moment before a small voice echoed from the shadows.

"I'm here…".

She looked over the edge of her bed, seeing Bow still asleep on the floor below her… and Adora sitting silently on the bench by the window, staring out at the world around them.

Taking a breath to steady her suddenly racing heart, Glimmer grabbed her blanket and teleported down beside her friend, unintentionally causing the other girl to flinch at her sudden appearance. "Sorry," she muttered, offering a gentle smile, "What are you doing down here?".

Adora just shrugged, focusing on the sky outside more than the princess beside her. "I like to look at the stars sometimes when I can't sleep, I've… never really seen them before in the Fright Zone, the sky was always just covered with smoke, I sorta thought that's just what it looked like,".

Glimmer just stared at her for a moment, seeing Adora's eyes full of wonder and amazement at the night sky. "They're pretty, huh?" she said, following her gaze at the spectacle before them, "I used to climb up to the roofs and watch the stars when I was younger… until mom caught me and forbid me from doing it again. But… that still doesn't stop me from going up there from time to time,".

Adora chuckled a little, "That sounds like something you'd do,".

She scoffed softly and bumped her shoulder against the blonde's, "You're not wrong,".

They both chucked for a moment before falling back into a comfortable silence.

It was quiet, aside from the sounds of Bow's snoring, crickets, and the occasional footfalls of the guards patrolling outside the room and around the castle, but other than that, both girls were alone.

"Are you okay?" Glimmer finally asked, looking up with concern, "You said you couldn't sleep,".

"Yeah…" Adora responded, "I- I think so… just- thinking too much again".

"Nightmares?".

She nodded, "Yeah…".

With a small frown, the princess reached up and wrapped the edges of her blanket around Adora's shoulders, being sure to cover them both before pressing her cheek against the other girl's arm.

"Better?".

Adora smiled and nodded, resting her own head on top of the princess's, "Yeah… thanks,".

Neither girl said anything for a moment, both concentrated on the stars outside.

"How many stars do you think there are?" she asked suddenly, turning to Glimmer with an inquisitive look on her face.

Glimmer couldn't help but giggle at Adora's innocence.

"Hundreds of thousands probably… too much to count if that's what you're asking,".

She nodded again, "I tried to count them during the first few nights I was here… but I only got up to around a thousand before I fell asleep,".

"Wow… I don't think I've ever counted to a thousand before, but I don't blame you for falling asleep, counting stars are almost like counting sheep".

Adora paused for a moment.

"What's a sheep?".

It took nearly everything Glimmer had not to laugh, not really knowing what she was expecting when using the term. "We'll add that to the list of things to show you, okay? That and the bakery," she said, stifling a small yawn.

"I'm sorry I ruined our plans of going yesterday morning… I didn't really expect to um, have a breakdown like that," Adora admitted, her voice growing soft as if she were ashamed.

"You didn't ruin our plans, Adora… things happened that were more important than going to the bakery. Like taking care of you for example,".

"Huh, Thanks. It's… nice knowing that you and Bow have my back, and I want you to know I'll always have your guys' back too,".

Glimmer smiled again, "That's what friends are for,".

She nodded a little, once again, looking off into the distance.

"I'm glad we're friends, Glimmer," Adora whispered, wrapping her arm around the smaller girl's shoulder.

"M- me too…" the princess said, genuinely touched and flattered by her remark, "We're always going to be here for you, Adora".

"I know," she said, seeming somewhat distant all of a sudden.

It was only then in the light of the moon, that Glimmer noticed the slight puffiness of Adora's eyes, a small shine coating her cheeks.

Had she been crying?

"Are you sure you're okay? Are you still in pain?".

She shrugged at the question, "Not really. Just my thoughts are… kind of troubling sometimes,".

"Troubling how?".

"Like… *sigh* sometimes… I see things in my head that never happened to me, things about me and Catra, stuff that could only happen when I was still in the Fright Zone, but… they aren't my memories, at least, I don't think,".

"So… flashbacks but… not exactly?".

Adora just shrugged and sighed.

"Glimmer?".

"Yeah?".

"I think I'm starting to remember things that Shadow Weaver tried to make me forget," she said, a small tremor building in her voice, "And I'm not sure I want to remember them…".

Glimmer blinked, her mind struggling somewhat to processing what she just heard. Of course, she remembered glitching out of her restraints in the Black Garnet room in order to save Adora from the woman in question, but it hadn't even occurred to her that that may not have been the first time Shadow Weaver tried (or even succeded) to erase the blonde girl's memories.

"...Adora,".

"I don't think I know what parts of my life are real and which ones are made up," she continued, "My whole life… could be a lie, and I would never truly know,".

She wasn't sure who started tearing up first, her or Adora.

"Talk to me," Glimmer whispered, "Please,".

Adora just shook her head, doing her best to hold back a sob, "I don't think I know who I am anymore, Glimmer… I- I don't know where I came from, who I was before Shadow Weaver found me, or… if she even did _find_ me. The more I try to think about my childhood, the more blurry things become, there are chunks of my life that are just… non-existent".

The princess wasn't even able to respond, both unsure of what to say, and unable to get any words out aside for small whines and whimpers.

"Wh-? Glimmer… why are you crying?" she asked, blinking away her own tears, "Did I say something wrong?".

"No! No, I just… I wish I could do more to help you, Adora," Glimmer said, sniffling softly, "I wish there was more I could do to help you feel better, I really want to make you feel better,".

Adora just blinked, staring at the smaller girl with slight confusion.

"Talking with you helps," she said almost timidly.

"Y- yeah?".

She nodded.

"And… a hug would probably help too…".

Through her tears, Glimmer had to laugh a little.

"Do you want a hug?".

She nodded again, a small smile pulling at the edge of her lips.

"Yeah…".

"Then come here," the princess said, gently wrapping her arms around the other girl, feeling as she did the same. "No matter what you're going through, Adora," she whispered, "I'm always going to be here for you,".

"A- always?".

Glimmer nodded and held her closer.

"Always".


	3. Sick Day

Since the day of her little 'breakdown' in the woods, Adora mostly stayed in her room, not really able to do much else since her stitched up back was still healing. That and Glimmer had basically forbidden her from doing anything that would cause further injury to herself, begging her not to push herself harder than what her body was willing to give, and oddly enough, Adora found herself unable to say no to the princess.

"I'll be fine, Glimmer," she tried to reassure, even though the thought of being left alone in the castle while her friends were off on a relief mission was less than pleasing, "Go ahead… I have everything I need here, okay?".

"I know," Glimmer pouted, "But I'm still worried about you,".

If Adora was being honest, it still didn't make a lot of sense as to why both Bow and Glimmer cared so much, never in her life had anyone been so concerned over her wellbeing. This was the first time in her life she felt genuinely cared for… _loved_ even. Sure Catra had occasionally- she stopped her thoughts there not wanting to do for that rabbit hole of emotions. Anytime Adora thought of Catra, she could never get herself out of the odd state of mind, unable to decipher is Catra was still someone she cared about or just another enemy on the battlefield. But

"I'll be okay, I promise. Swear on my life," she continued, holding up a hand in a pledge of sorts.

Glimmer almost immediately took hold of the other girl's hand and put it down. "I'd prefer you not swear of your _life,_ Adora. How about just a pinky swear?".

She blinked, "Pinky swear?".

"It's… it's just like a promise for best friends, and you can't break them," the princess said, taking her hand once again and hooking their pinkies together, "I mean… you can, there are no real rules against it, but you shouldn't… am I making sense?".

Adora nodded, hoping Glimmer didn't notice how red her face was now that they were technically holding hands. "Yeah… I think I get it," she mutter, just staring down at their hands for a moment before offering the girl a timid smile, "It's like an oath, right?".

She looked thoughtful for a second before nodding. "Basically. So, you're sure you'll be okay? And you won't try to sneak out to help us?".

Adora already had her mouth open, ready to protest, but she quickly shut it, realizing that that is exactly something she'd do. "I- I won't… I promise," she said, shaking her hand along with Glimmer's to confirm the pact, "You have my word,".

"Okay… I believe you. Just… tell me you'll get help if you need it? I know you're a bit wary of the guards and staff, but you can always go to my mom if you need anything".

Adora almost laughed, not sure who she was more scared of, the guards or the queen. She'd never admit it to anyone, let alone Glimmer, but Queen Angella terrified her, knowing that if she ever did something wrong, or jeopardized anyone in the rebellions lives, she would have her head. So, she just nodded and held her tongue, hoping she wouldn't actually need to go to Angella for anything, "Yeah… I- I'll do that,".

Glimmer paused for a moment and pulled her hand away, only to throw her arms around the taller blonde and embracing her, "Well see you after the mission then, alright?".

Adora held back a yelp of surprise, still not entirely used to all the affection her friends showered her with, but, as always, she gladly returned it the best she could. "Of course… I'm not going anywhere," she muttered, subconsciously nuzzling her face against the other girl's soft hair as she hugged her back, "Just… be safe, okay? Promise you won't overdo it?".

"I promise," Glimmer replied, "The Horde is no match for us now. We're going to win this in the end, Adora… I just know it. Now please promise to take care of yourself… you've been _off_ these last few days… are you sure you're okay? You're not in any more pain?".

"I- … no, not really, just sore at this point," she said, chuckling nervously, somewhat disappointed when the other girl pulled away from the hug, "And a bit tired,".

"Well, then you rest okay… Bow and I will be back before you know it,".

"Alright, I'll try," Adora muttered softly, sighing when she heard Bow call for Glimmer from outside the room.

"Come on, Glimmer!" He called, "Perfuma is here and we're about to head out!"

"Coming!" Glimmer yells back, sighing sadly when she turned back to Adora, "I have to go now, but we'll be back as soon as we can, I promise".

"Okay… I'll see you then, Glimmer," she said, watching closely as the other girl hugged her once more before getting up off her bed and headed out of the room, "Bye,".

The princess nodded and waved back with a soft smile, "Bye, Adora".

* * *

When the door finally clicked closed, Adora sighed as she flopped down on her less than comfortable bed, wincing as a dull pain shot up her back. "Ow…" she muttered, pressing her palms against her face and dragging them down. By now she was used to the soreness that came with touching the stitches on her back, but that didn't stop her mind from reminding her of how she got them… and why. But now, with Glimmer, Bow and the rest of her friends gone, she had a whole list of things she could worry about to distract herself from her last interaction with Catra.

It wasn't that she doubted her friend's ability to defend and protect themselves if the Horde decided to attack, Adora knew better than anyone that everyone could hold their own extremely well. But, what co concerned her most was the fact that now, after everything that went down at the Battle of Bright Moon, Catra would stop at nothing to take the rebellion.

Somehow, all the Horde's weapons seemed twice as strong than what she remembered, and hurt twice as much. More often than not, everyone would return from a fight with more bumps and bruises than normal, so something had to have changed within the Fright Zone, something to make them more powerful. But Adora had no clue what that could be… all she knew was that she needed to find out… and fast.

But all she could do, for now, was wait until she was better.

But even then that was a challenge.

Adora tossed and turned on her bed for a bit as she tried to relax, not having much else to do, but Glimmer was right when she said she thought she was acting off. She felt oddly sluggish the last few days, she was tired even though she hadn't done anything, she felt weaker than usual. It was concerning, to say the least. But she kept telling herself that it was part of her recovery, the healer kept saying that being a little weak was normal, that her body was just trying to heal itself at its own pace.

"If I had my healing powers… I would be out there helping, not… stuck here,".

It was a pointless argument, especially one against herself, but Adora couldn't help but miss the thrill of a fight, no matter how small. But, at the same time, she knew that Bow and Glimmer only wanted her to be safe, and knew what was best for her even if she didn't believe it. With a small sigh, pressing a hand against her forehead. "Just relax, Adora. You're just recovering, this is normal," she told herself, "Take a nap, and you'll feel better, and by then Glimmer, Bow and the others will be back and you won't have to worry anymore".

But Adora was never really good at taking her mind off things.

So, with a sigh, she did her best to find a comfortable spot on her bed that didn't cause her too much pain and closed her eyes, only to have then shoot open again when there was a sudden knock at her door. She jumped to her feet in an instant, finding herself ready to salute whoever was going to enter, but those days were behind her, and Adora silently cursed at herself as she shook her head.

"Um, come in… the door is unlocked," she said, still getting used to the idea of having her own room and privacy.

Of course, Adora found herself hoping that it was Glimmer that would walk through the door, but she knew that it wasn't likely. Maybe it was Frosta since she usually stayed behind on missions that were deemed 'too dangerous' but, the last person she expected to see walk into her room was the Queen herself.

"Your majesty!" Adora exclaimed, immediately bowing down, nearly stumbling over herself, as was per usual whenever she was in the vicinity of the Queen.

Queen Angella looked… confused more than anything at the gesture, offering her a half smile as a result. "You know you don't have to do that every time I walk into the room, right?" she said, gently closing the door behind her.

Adora blushed and straightened herself out, coughing awkwardly, "Um... yeah, sorry, it's kinda a force of habit. But uh, w-what are you doing here?".

The woman hummed slightly as she walked around the room for a moment, smirking at a picture of a crudely drawn horse pinned to the wall. "My daughter asked me to check on you after she and the others left. How do you feel, you look a little pale,".

"I- I'm fine," Adora said, "just a bit tired,".

The Queen nodded, "And… *sigh* I suppose I feel that it's time I apologized to you,".

She blinked, "Apologize?".

What on Etheria would the Queen of Bright Moon have to apologize for? And to her of all people?

"For the way I treated you when you first arrived here, I… struggled to see past where you came from and refused to see who you really were".

Adora almost couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Y-you don't have to apologize for that, ma'am," she muttered, dropping her gaze to her feet, "I- I understand,".

Queen Angella raised an eyebrow, "Is that so?".

She nodded, "Glimmer was the same way… at first, she wanted nothing to do with me, she thought I was… was a heartless destroyer. I don't blame her now, after knowing what the Horde was doing…". Adora would be lying if she said she didn't feel sick thinking about how many lives had been destroyed by her former people, but that was all in her past and the Horde no longer had a hold on her. "But… then she got to know me and… now she… she's my best friend,".

"I see…" Angella said, staring at the drawing for a moment longer before turning back to Adora, "well, that's my daughter for you, always seeing the good in people,".

Adora found herself blushing again as she nodded, "Y- yeah".

A few seconds of quiet passed before the Queen spoke again.

"Well, I'll let you be. I'll have one of the staff inform you when the rebellions return, alright?".

She nodded, "Yes, ma'am,".

"Be well now," the Queen said, walking back towards the door and leaving without another word.

Adora heaved a heavy sigh, not even aware she was basically holding her breath until the Queen left. Needless to say, she was completely taken aback by her sudden appearance and the fact that she apologized for not trusting her in the beginning. But, she was weary of course, just because the Queen was nice to her once didn't mean she suddenly trusted her, for all she knew, Queen Angella was the reason the guards were so focused on keeping tabs on her.

She shook her head and sighed again, walking back over to her bed to lay down. "At least I have something else to focus on," Adora muttered to herself, rubbing the side of her head as she once again settled down on the hard, uncomfortable cot, desperate to get rid of the odd, dull ache in her head and body. "Just do as Glimmer said," she continued, "take a bit of a rest and you'll feel better… that's all. Just, rest and you'll be better,".

She really hoped Glimmer was right.

* * *

Nightmares were normal for Adora, especially ones of things that happened in the Fright Zone, things with Shadow Weaver and Catra, the other cadets she once called friends. But the one she hated most, were the ones about the rebellion, her friends, all the princesses falling at the hands of the Horde, falling because she wasn't good enough.

Glimmer was the one that made an appearance the most in these dreams, usually ending up injured if not completely beaten up as a result of the fight that played out in her head, and Adora hated every second her dreams forced her to watch the girl she cared so deeply for being tortured in her head. More often than not, she'd wake up in a blind panic, unsure and unable to tell her dreams and reality apart.

Which is exactly what happened.

Thankfully, Adora was able to manage _not_ to scream as she woke up with a start, falling out of her bed and landing on the floor with a heavy thud as a result. She groaned as she struggled to pick herself up off the ground, panting harshly as her vision swimming before her eyes. If it wasn't apparent before, something was definitely wrong with her, but have never experienced this before, Adora wasn't sure what to do.

She just needed to find Glimmer.

After she somehow managed to make it back up to her bed, Adora pressed her head against forehead, finding it covered with a sheen of sweat, despite her feeling unbelievably cold. She could have sworn the window was closed, but it was still midday… and she had no reason to be cold. What was happening to her?

She just needed to find Glimmer.

"Glimmer," Adora mutter, forcing herself to her feet, "Glimmer… I need help".

Of course, she didn't expect Glimmer, let alone anyone answer, besides, she doubted the rebellion was even back from the mission, so… for the time being, she would just have to wait or find Glimmer herself. Adora knew that she'd promised to go to Angella if she needed anything, but still, even after their talk earlier in the day, she was terrified of her, and who was to say she'd even help her, the Queen could still see her as a threat for all she knew, and the guards would rather see her dead than help her… so finding Glimmer was her best bet, She would just have to deal with the aftermath of breaking her promise later.

She just needed to find Glimmer.

"Get your sword, Adora," she told herself, wobbling as she tried to walk over to the vanity where she kept her weapon (Glimmer had made her keep it there after finding out Adora had been sleeping with it next to her in bed), "Maybe She-Ra won't be affected by… w- whatever this is,". But, when she managed to hold the sword up and mutter the magic words, nothing happened, not even a sparkle from the stone embedded on the hilt. She wasn't surprised, the sword rarely worked when she wanted it to, only when she needed it.

"Damnit," Adora cursed, letting the sword fall to her side with a clang, "N-not now,".

If becoming She-Ra was out of the question, then she would just have to power through whatever was holding her back, she was strong… this would be nothing compared to what she'd go through before.

She just needed to find Glimmer.

So Adora grabbed hold of her sword and placed it on her back, fitting it through the loops on her belt, unsure if she'd even be able to carry it given how weak she felt. But somehow, she managed to stumble all the way to the door, still panting and fighting off waves of nausea. "You just have to find Glimmer," she said, pushing the door open a bit, "She's just a few villages away… you'll be fine,".

Having only taken a few steps out of her room, Adora couldn't help but groan in annoyance when a pair of guard walked up to her, seeming to have been watching her door throughout the day.

"What are you doing out of your room, Horde Soldier?" one of them asked, stopping her from moving forward while the other stalked off somewhere behind them.

"I- I'm going to find the princess," Adora admitted, leaning against a wall for support.

The guard furrowed their eyebrows, "Why?".

"I- I feel better, I want to go help,".

Of course, the guard's face emoted nothing but doubt, and Adora couldn't exactly blame them either, she knew they were only doing their job, but she couldn't help but wish that all the guards could just see past her… well… past.

"You don't look to well to me, so I suggest returning to your quarters until the princess returns,".

She shook her head.

"N- no,".

The guard blinked in surprise, "Excuse me?".

"I- I need to… find Glimmer,".

"And I implore you to return to your room, you're not well,".

"I'm fine!" Adora snapped, wincing at the volume of her own voice before returning to a normal volume, "I'm fine…".

"No, you're not," a new voice said, causing Adora to flinch again. It was the Queen, of course, followed by the other guard that left moments ago, had the guards really gone and told on her? "What are you doing out here, Adora?".

"I-... I just need to find Glimmer,".

"You're in no shape to go anywhere," Angella continued, dismissing the guards with a wave of her hand, "Glimmer and the others will be back before you know it, but for now, please… go lay down. You're ill, Adora,".

"No, I'm, I'm not… j- just tired" Adora tried to reassure, even though, at this point, she knew that the Queen was right. She was just far too stubborn to admit it. "I'm fine,".

"You can barely stand up,".

"I'm fine," she said again, pulling herself away from the wall as if to prove she could stand on her own, "I just… need… Glimmer-".

Adora could barely even finish her sentence, finding herself falling forward as her vision transformed into a sea of black.

* * *

Once her senses returned to her, the first thing Adora was aware of was a voice. It wasn't saying anything, let alone talking, all she heard was a soft hum, the tune of the song being hummed being oddly familiar.

Having only been in Bright Moon for a few months, she found it unlikely that she learned it from being around some of the townsfolk, or even Glimmer. Adora _knew_ this tune… but from where, she had no idea, but it was familiar… safe even.

She muttered incoherently for a moment, struggling to formulate any words.

"-Glimmer?".

In response, the voice stopped humming and Adora was welcomed with a soft hush, and the feeling of a hand gently brushing itself through her hair.

"It's okay," the voice said, "You're alright now,".

Normally, Adora would panic at an unknown person touching her face, even if it was just her friends, but, and a surprise to herself, she didn't even flinch. Plus, it was pretty clear at that point that whoever was humming to her wasn't Glimmer or Bow, they would have already started freaking out.

So who…

With what little energy she had, Adora opened her eyes, seeing a hazy figure sitting beside her.

"Angella?".

The figure didn't say anything at first, only moving their hand away from her before speaking.

"Rest now… you'll feel better soon,".

Adora could only nod, letting her eyes flutter closed again as the figure disappeared from view.

* * *

"Adora… are you awake? Can you hear me?".

"Glimmer?" Adora muttered, opening her eyes once again, this time pleasantly surprised to see the familiar sparkly hue of the princess sitting beside here.

"Yeah… how do you feel?".

She took a moment to respond, wincing softly as she reached up and rubbed her thankfully less aching head. "Tired pretty much sums it up," she said, sighing heavily, "What happened?".

"You passed out from a fever," the princess replied, smiling softly, "Why didn't you tell us you were sick, I would have stayed here with you,".

"I… I wasn't sure what was wrong with me, I thought I was just tired,".

"You've never had a fever before?".

Adora shrugged, trying to remember the nearly nonexistent times she'd been sick in the Fright Zone, but those times usually consisted of simple coughs and sneezes, maybe a headache, but not… passing out in front of the Queen.

"I'm sorry,".

"You don't need to apologize if you didn't know, Adora," Glimmer said, helping her friend sit up for a moment as she handed her a glass of water, "I'm just glad you're okay, you were delirious for a few hours… I was worried about you,".

"I didn't mean to worry you," she said, gladly taking a large gulp of the water, her throat feeling parched and dry, "When did you get back? Did everything go okay, no one was hurt?".

Glimmer couldn't help but chuckle. "It was just a relief mission, Adora. Everything went according to plan and everyone is fine. And we're only been back for about an hour… why?".

"W- who was taking care of me then?".

"Probably the healer, mom brought him over here after she found you,".

"Found me?".

The smaller girl nodded, "She said the guards found you passed out in the hallway, what were you doing out there?".

Adora blinked a few times, "I-... I'm not sure,".

"Well, what matters now is you're okay, we were worried," Glimmer said, taking back the glass as Adora handed it to her, "but just rest now, I'll let everyone know you're okay,".

"Okay…".

"Do you want me to sit with you for a while?".

She nodded, "That would be nice,".

The princess smiled and pulled herself away from Adora's bed for a moment, "Alright, let me just tell my mom you're awake so she can send the healer home,".

She nodded again and watched as the princess walked to the door, only to have it open on its own. "Oh! Mom, I was just coming to get you," Glimmer said as the Queen poked her head into the room.

"How is she?" Angella asked.

"Awake, finally," she replied, pointing back at Adora.

Both Adora and the Queen stared at each other for a moment, both remembering the occurrences of a few hours ago, but neither said anything to each other.

"Well," the Queen finally said, breaking their gaze, "I'm glad to see she's alright. I assume you'll be watching over her tonight,".

Glimmer nodded brightly, "Yup! I- I mean, if it's okay with Adora, of course,".

Adora nodded and smiled, "It's fine,".

"Very well, take care of yourself, Adora," Angella said, closing the door without another word.

"What was that about?".

Adora just shrugged. "I'm not sure," she said, settling back down into her bed with a confused expression.

Maybe there was more to the Queen than she'd thought.


	4. Lean on Me

With only the ever so slight brightening sky to illuminate the castle hallways, Glimmer quietly made her way to Adora's room, both unable to sleep and wanting to check on her friend after she finally recovered from being sick and injured.

It had barely been a week since the healer had deemed the blonde 'fit for battle' and the very first thing she wanted to do was start training again, to make up for the time she lost. Quote "I need to be able to help you guys if the Horde decides to attack again,". Except, the Horde hadn't attacked anywhere in Etheria since Bright Moon, which Glimmer understood was where Adora's paranoia and need to be prepared came from, so she did her best to reassure her friend that there was nothing to worry about.

"You need to take it slow, Adora," The smaller girl had told her, " The Horde isn't going anywhere any time soon, unfortunately, so there'll be time for you to build your strength again before the next fight,".

Of course, Bow had backed her up, worried out of his mind when he discovered Adora had taken ill, advising against training so early on in her recovery, wanting Adora to still take it easy instead of pushing herself to train harder than what she was ready for.

"We're just looking out for you, Adora, " he'd added, "that's what friends are for".

But, once she set her mind to something, there was hardly any stopping Adora from accomplishing a task.

That's something Glimmer admired about Adora though… she never gave up.

Well...

Almost never…

It was clear that Adora's nightmares were back, or she was remembering more things about her past, which was usually why she trained so hard and didn't sleep, using exercise as a distraction. But it wasn't a healthy coping technique, and Glimmer hoped she wasn't going to hurt herself in the process.

So, with a small sigh, the princess knocked on the other girl's door, already hearing small movements from within the room.

"Adora?" she said, "Are you awake?".

The movement continued for a moment, and after a small thud and quiet cuss, Adora finally opened the door, a timid smile gracing the blonde's lips. "Glimmer? W- what are you doing up?".

"I could ask you the same thing…".

Her face went red for a moment as she turned away, "I um… I couldn't sleep, y- you know the usual?".

Glimmer nodded understandingly, concern still clear on her face, "I couldn't sleep either… so I decided to come over and make sure you were okay,".

Adora blinked, "Why wouldn't I be okay?".

The princess just stared at her for a moment, causing the other girl to blush again.

"Oh, right… nightmares,".

"Did you have a nightmare?" Glimmer asked, "You're never up this early".

"I…no, no nightmares this time, not really anyways. I just… *sigh* I'm-" she replied, pausing for a moment, as she fidgeted nervously in the doorway, "I… do you want to come in? I dont exactly feel like being alone right now, and since you're up...".

"You want me to sit with you for a while?".

She nodded with a small, defeated sigh, "Y- yeah…if that's okay,".

Glimmer smiled a bit, still finding it odd to see Adora's more timid and shy side. But given her past and the things she went through during her short time living in Bright Moon, she couldn't blame her for being a little scared to open up. Still, she was glad that her friend felt comfortable enough to talk to her and Bow, even if it wasn't often.

"Of course it's okay, It's always okay. Now, come on… I'll stay with you for a while, it's almost sunrise anyways" she said, reaching over and taking a gentle hold on the other girl's hand before walking farther into the room, Adora following quietly along, "We won't have to stay up for long".

The blonde chose to remain silent, still not saying anything even when both girls sat beside each other on Adora's bed.

Needless to say, Glimmer was concerned.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Still nothing.

"Adora?".

The other girl sighed softly, immediately bringing her knees to her chest and burying her face in her crossed arms.

"I'm okay…" she finally said, "just thinking,".

"Do you want to talk about what's bothering you?" the princess asked, seeing that there was clearly something bothering her friend, "I'm here to listen…"

But Adora just buried her face farther into her arms and shook her head, "Not really… sorry".

"That's alright," Glimmer said, scooting slightly closer, "You don't have to apologize… I understand,".

The blonde managed to lift her head slightly and force a smile, reaching over and offering her hand to the other girl as a silent thank you. Glimmer smiled in return and gladly took hold of her friend's hand, carefully leaning her head against the other girl's shoulder with a light sigh. Both friends remained silent for a moment, simply enjoying each others presence as the sky slowly grew lighter around them.

Glimmer hoped she was doing enough to make Adora feel better, even if she wasn't doing much of anything. Talking usually helped her through some emotions, but other times it didn't. Sometimes the simple act of being there was enough to make her friend feel safe, which gave the princess a small idea of what life was like for Adora growing up, Catra probably being the only person in her life to show her comfort and kindness…

But now…

The princess closed her eyes for a moment, trying to focus on something other than what Catra and Adora's relationship was like before she defected. So, for the time being, Glimmer distracted herself by absentmindedly running her thumb across the other girl's hand, finding an odd sense of comfort from the rough and calloused digits. But what intrigued her the most was the dark purplish-blue splots speckled across her knuckles.

Adora of course, lifted her head slightly, curious and confused by the gesture.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Hmm?".

"With my hand… ".

Glimmer shrugged, "You're hands are just… so calloused, even more than Bow's".

"Oh. Is… is that a bad thing?".

"No, not all. It's just…".

"Just what?".

The princess sighed softly, pulling away from the blonde with a concerned smile.

"Why are your hands all bruised?".

Adora just stared at the princess for a moment before looking down at her own hands. "Oh, it's just from training, you know… punching things a lot? It happens all the time, especially now that I'm training again".

She blinked, "Adora please tell me you haven't been training so hard that you've given yourself bruised knuckles… I thought you promised that you'd take it easy,".

"I- I did… but… I need to be ready, Glimmer, you know that. I have to be able to protect Etheria,".

"You know your life doesn't have to be all about training and being She-Ra, Adora. You do know that's not all you're here for, right?".

The blonde remained silent for a moment.

"But… why else did you find me in the woods that day if all I was meant to do was be She-Ra?" she asked, her voice low and timid, scared almost.

Glimmer honestly couldn't even blame Adora for thinking so little of herself given what she's told them about how the Horde treated their cadets, but that didn't mean it hurt any less to hear.

"You're not just here to be She-Ra, Adora," she said, "We found you that day because of She-Ra... because you were always meant to escape the Fright Zone... because you were always meant to be our friend… things happen for a reason, and that was one of those times. You are She-Ra, I can't change that, but that's not all you have to be, you're not a weapon… you're a person".

That seemed to strike a nerve within Adora, a confused almost nonbelieving look dawning her face.

"But…" she began, only stopping when Glimmer cut her off.

"No 'buts'," the princess said, soft but sternly, "You're not here to fight someone else's war… you here to help us win it, okay?".

Adora just nodded, and Glimmer wasn't sure if she even believed here… but it was a start.

"Good," she said, leaning in closer and embracing the other girl, "Now come on, let's think of something else. Have you ever seen the sunrise?".

"I- I mean, I've seen the sky getting lighter, but… I don't think I've never watched the sunrise," the blonde admitted after a long pause, pulling away with a light blush, "Will you show me?".

The smaller girl smiled, once again taking hold of Adora's hands, "Of course".

* * *

"Glimmer… Glimmer! Wake up!".

Glimmer jumped slightly at the sound of her name and the hands shaking her awake.

"Huh, what?" she muttered, rubbing her eyes at the harsh morning light, looking around the room to see she was lying down on the padded windowsill she assumed they'd both fallen asleep on. Adora was standing beside her, awake, fully dresses and an overly excited look on her face. "Adora? What's going on...".

"We have a mission!" she replied as softly as she could, trying not to sound too enthusiastic about the potential danger, "Horde troops have been spotted near a village on the edge of Plumeria's land and your mom wants us out there just in case they attack. We leave in a couple hours, Bow's already here, but we were waiting for you to wake up so we can make a strategy plan,".

The princess just blinked a few times, still half asleep as she tried to prosses what was going on.

"What time is it,".

"The sun came up about an hour or two ago… so its still early. And… the sunrise was really pretty, I didn't know there were so many shades of pinks and yellows," Adora continued, "It was beautiful,".

That brought a smile to Glimmer's face as she sat up, the blonde's blanket falling around her waist. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion for a moment, not remembering her and Adora sharing a blanket last night since the princess was pretty sure she fell asleep before the sun even came up. "I wish I was awake to see it with you. I feel bad I missed it, but I guess I was more tired than I thought," she explained with a yawn.

"It's okay," Adora reassured, sitting beside her for a moment, "it was nice having you with me even if you were asleep,".

"Were you okay?" Glimmer asked, remembering how oddly distant the blonde was.

She nodded and smiled, "With you there, I'm always going to be okay. Besides… you're cute when you sleep,".

Once again, Glimmer blushed, trying to hide her genuine surprise and flattery with a fake cough. Surly Adora didn't mean that in anything but a friendly friend kind of way… right?

"Heh, yeah right. I'm anything but cute, Adora," the princess muttered, "but thanks for the compliment".

The blonde beamed with a smile.

"No problem!" she said, hopping up off the bed, "Bow and I will be waiting for you in the conference room, okay?".

"I'll see you there," Glimmer said, watching as Adora left the room once again, still smiling stupidly.

Once she was gone, the smaller girl sighed and flopped back down, pressing the palms of her hand against her eyes, "This crush is going to be the end of me," she muttered.

* * *

To say Adora was excited to get back into action was a major understatement, the girl was basically vibrating with excitement and anticipation as the trio wandered through the still frozen and damaged Whispering Woods.

"We know you're excited," Bow said, watching as his friend swung her sword around in the open air, practicing no doubt, "but you still need to take it easy, we all do,".

"I know, and I will!" Adora promised, "I'm just… getting ready,".

"Just be careful," Glimmer finally piped up, trying to mask her concern as Adora continued to push herself, "I don't want you to get hurt,".

That got Adora to stop, but only for a moment as she turned to the princess and smiled. "I won't, Glimmer. I'll take it easy, I swear. Pinky swear!".

The blonde stuck her hand out, pinky extended as she waited for Glimmer to comply, a large smile still gracing her face.

Sometimes Glimmer wondered if Adora was even aware of how charming and wonderful she was, or if she had any clue what those traits were doing to her. The was hardly a moment they spent together where the princess wasn't blushing at the former soldier's charm and innocence.

So, of course, she reached over and gladly hooked her pinky around Adora's, Bow giving them both a knowing look.

It wasn't like she could just say no either…

Having Adora's trust was something sacred to Glimmer, knowing that she, Bow and the other Princesses (including Sea Hawk) were probably the only people in the world who trusted her unconditionally. Even saying that her mother trusted Adora was still a bit of a stretch, the princess herself wasn't even sure if the queen trusted her.

In truth, the only reason, Adora was even allowed to stay at the castle was because she vouched for her, sworn responsibility for her and if Adora did anything to jeopardize the alliance or her life, Glimmer knew that her mother would have her head, both figuratively and literally.

She refused to let that happen.

"I believe you," the princess finally said with a slightly forced smile as she tried to shake the troubling thoughts from her head, "Now come on, the village shouldn't be too far away now,".

Adora nodded and continued to scout ahead, silently muttering tips to herself: "Keep your stance wide, keep your body lower...balance is the key".

"She really is taking this training thing seriously, isn't she," Bow asked, falling behind with Glimmer.

She could only nod.

"I just have a bad feeling she's going to get herself hurt, Bow," she explained, "Plus, Adora's been really distant since getting sick… and I can't get through to her,".

"She'll come around," the boy promised, "This is still new to her… just give her time,".

But Glimmer was never good at waiting

And she was terrified of losing Adora before she even had her.

If she ever could.

Without even realizing that Adora had stopped dead in her tracks right in front of them, both teens ran right into her, and unsurprisingly, barely caused her to even flinch.

"Adora? Why'd you stop all of a sudden -?".

Before Bow could even finish his sentence, the blonde shushed him softly.

"Did you hear that?" she asked.

Glimmer and Bow just looked at her, utterly confused as there were no other sounds in the woods other than their own footsteps.

"Hear what? I don't hear anything…".

"T hat, you didn't hear that?".

They shook their heads and Adora huffed in frustration for a moment.

None of the teens said anything for a moment, the taller girl stiffening when they all head a far off voice.

"We need to hurry," She said, bolting off deeper into the woods without another word, sword already raised above her head and magic words spoken.

With a flash of light, She-Ra disappeared into the foliage.

Without even a second thought, Glimmer and Bow followed, running after the tall 8ft warrior princess as they ran closer to the cause of the commotion, which could only be coming from the village they were ordered to protect.

After the Thaymor incident that brought all of them together, Adora still struggled to see the devastation the Horde left behind, feeling that the first village she witnessed fall, was her fault. Glimmer and Bow, even the other princesses, assured her that it wasn't, but I still wasn't easy seeing She-Ra frozen in place as she looked over the growing devastation.

Glimmer skidded to a halt next to her friends, panting as she saw tanks begin to roll into the village, causing huts to fall and villagers to scatter in every direction, screaming as they did so.

For a moment, they all just stared.

"Glimmer, help me with the villagers," Bow said suddenly, dragging everyone back to the horrid reality in front of them, "Think you can handle the tanks, She-Ra?".

Only, she didn't respond, continuing to watch the destruction unfold.

The princess looked up at the tall blonde, concerned as she placed a hand gently on her back, taking note of the small wince her touch caused.

"You got this, Adora," She whispered, smiling when her friend finally broke her gaze and looked down at her, "We believe in you,".

Bow nodded and smiled back, "We've got you're back, alright?"

The other girl just nodded, taking a deep breath before taking her stance.

"Get everyone to safety," She-Ra said, eyes set on a tank that had taken notice of them, "I'll take care of the rest,".

After one last look of reassurance passed between the three friends, they all leaped into action.

* * *

"Is that everyone?" Bow asked, directing the last set of villagers to a relief zone not too far away.

"I think so…" the princess replied, watching as the small squad of Horde soldiers turned tail and retreated, "No injuries or casualties, minimal collateral damage. I consider this a win".

He sighs gratefully, "Thank the First Ones…".

Glimmer nodded and sighed too, looking around the partially destroyed village for signs of their friend.

"Have you seen Adora?" she asked.

The boy shook his head, "But I assume she was the one chasing that squad away,".

Still, the feeling of unease that something might go wrong stuck with the girl.

She needed to make sure Adora was alright.

"Come on," she said, extending a hand out to Bow, "Let's go find her,".

Once he took her hand, the princess to teleport them to the center of the square, the warrior princess nowhere to be seen through the settling dust and smoke.

"Adora?" Glimmer called, trying to swat away the plumes of ash in front of her, "Where are you?".

"Adora!" Bow called, walking in the opposite direction.

Despite not even being a large village, it took the duo a good five minutes before they finally came across Adora, still in She-Ra form as she stood stock still in the middle of a field, a harsh golden glow illuminating the air around her.

At first, the girl didn't even react to Bow and Glimmer calling out to her, not even moving a single muscle.

"Adora? You okay?" the smaller girl asked, walking up beside her.

"I don't think she can hear us, Glimmer," Bow said, waving a hand in front of her face, only getting a few blinks in response, "Or see us for that matter…".

"Is she hurt?".

"I don't know…but… she's glowing like she did when we first met. Remember?".

That day was a little patchy if she was being honest, having blacked out from overusing her powers a few hours later, but Glimmer remembered the nearly nonexistent presence emotion on She-Ra's face when she transformed, Adora having been reunited with the sword.

It was almost like…

Adora wasn't there anymore.

Gently sliding her hand into the clenched fist of She-Ra, the princess gave it a light squeeze, trying to contain the temptation of a whimper in her voice.

"I'm here, Adora," she whispered, "It's Glimmer,".

Nothing happened at first, until Glimmer gently dragged her thumb across the other girl's knuckles, just like she did the night prior.

She-Ra took a sharp breath, and the glow disappeared.

"G- Glimmer? Bow? What- ?".

"Are you okay?".

The girl nodded, pressing a palm against her head, "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine…".

Bow came up beside Glimmer, just as concerned, "What happened?".

"I'm not sure," She-Ra responds, "I was running after the last tank, I- I remember tripping and then…".

Both waited for their friend to continue.

She didn't.

"Then what?" Glimmer asked.

"I don't know…".

"What do you mean you don't know?" Bow asked.

The lost and confused look on the other girl's face was answer enough.

"Well… all that matters is that we're all okay, and no one was hurt." the princess said, sighing with slight relief, "Let's go home…".

"Gladly," She-Ra replied, transforming back into Adora.

It seems Glimmer had spoken too soon, because the moment Adora took a step forward, she sunk to the ground, hissing softly in pain as she landed with a heavy thud.

"Adora!" Glimmer and Bow yelp, jumping back in surprise.

Unfortunately, it was normal for Adora to be slightly drained after a fight, and from being She-Ra for an extended amount of time, but this seemed to be the cause of something else.

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" the blonde reassured, seeming to struggle to get herself back up on her own, her friends gladly pulling her up the rest of the way, "I uh… I think I might have sprained my ankle though,".

"You what?!" Glimmer exclaims, nearly losing her grip on the taller girl.

"I'll be fine, it's nothing really," Adora tried to resolve, working her way out of her friend's grasp as if to walk some and prove she was fine, "It doesn't even hurt that much, it's just a sprai- AHHH, not a sprain, definitely not a sprain!".

And with that, Adora not so gracefully faceplanted into the ground, causing another stir of panic between Bow and Glimmer.

"Ow…"

"What?! How did that happen?" Glimmer exclaimed, helping her friend up, yet again.

"I don't know!" she replied, only seeming slightly less panicked that Bow was, the boy now wandering frantically around the now abandoned village for something to stabilize the injury, the Mom Friend™ in him, clearly taking over. "I didn't notice I was hurt until now!".

"How can you not realize you were injured? You were standing up just fine a minute ago!".

"I was She-Ra then, I don't… I don't think it's the same if I get hurt when I'm She-Ra,".

"Did you get hurt when you tripped?".

"I don't know! I don't know…" Adora said, now clearly distraught.

Glimmer sighed, trying to calm her own panic as she helped the blonde sit up, "Just… be careful next time, okay?".

She nodded vigorously, almost desperately.

"I was being so careful, Glimmer. I really was, you have to believe me!".

"I… of course, I believe you, why wouldn't I believe you?".

"You have to believe me," Adora continued, basically ranting at this point, "I tried,".

"Adora," the princess said, placing her arms on the other girl's shoulders and giving her a gentle shake to get her attention, "It's okay… I'm not mad. It was an accident,".

The taller girl just stared at her for a moment, seeming confused, relieved and flustered all at the same time.

"I… I'm-".

"I'm not upset, I'm just glad you're okay… relatively speaking, that is," she tried to reassure, realizing that Adora was worried she'd let her down.

"O- okay," Adora said, taking a ragged breath as if she was trying to prevent herself from getting too worked up, but there were already traces of tears in her eyes.

With a light sigh, Glimmer gave her friend a light smile.

"Can I hug you?".

She tried to ignore the slight blush that covered Adora's face when she asked, passing it off as a bit of embarrassment, but definitely noticed it.

"I'd like that…".

So the two girls hugged, and Glimmer couldn't help but feel the ever so slight tremble of Adora's hands as they subtly gripped onto her cloak. "You're okay," she added, doing her best to reassure and relax her friend.

After a moment, Bow returned with a few lengthy sticks and some rags.

"I KNOW FIRST AID!" he exclaimed.

Adora chuckled softly as she drew away from Glimmer, sniffling slightly as she looked up at her friend.

"Thanks,".

The boy smiled in return and bent down, doing his best to apply the makeshift splint while apologizing each time he accidentally made the blonde wince in pain. "We're going to have to take you back to the Healer… he can look over it, make sure it's not broken,".

"What happens if it's broken?".

"He'll probably give you a cast and some crutches, I don't know,".

"Whats a cast?".

Glimmer really hoped she was kidding.

"Something to help you heal faster," she decided, offering another reassuring smile.

Adora nodded again, looking around for a moment.

"So uh, how are we going to get back to Bright Moon?".

Glimmer and Bow shared a look for a moment.

They hadn't thought of that.

"I don't have enough energy to teleport anywhere near Bright Moon," the princess replied, "Besides we'd still have to walk a good way,".

"I could carry you," Bow offered with a smile.

"It took us almost 2 hours to walk here, you can't carry me that far," Adora pointed out.

"I can try…".

"Oh! And we can take turns!" Glimmer chimed in.

"Guys, it's okay, I'll be fine, just leave me here and-".

"What!?".

"Why would we leave you behind?".

Adora genuinely seemed taken aback for a moment.

"I'm just going to slow you down. I can find my own way home, you guys really don't have to go through all the trouble of-".

"Adora," Bow said, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, "No princess gets left behind, okay?".

"That includes you,".

"But I'm not a princess, not really. She-Ra's the princess,".

Without even thinking, Glimmer responded with the first thing that came to her mind.

"You're a princess to me," she said, suddenly realizing her mistake and blushing furiously.

Bow just gave them a look again.

"I- I mean, I'm a princess so… what I say goes, right?".

The blonde shrugged, "I mean, I guess?".

"Then you're a princess,".

"I don't think that's how it works, Glimmer,".

"Nope, you're a princess now. Don't like it, take it up with the Queen," she said, blushing at just how stupid she sounded.

Except…

It seemed to be working.

A small chuckle snuck past Adora's lips before a full-on giggle followed.

"Okay, okay, I'm a princess," she said, smiling brightly again.

"So will you let us carry you home?".

She nodded with slight hesitance, "Yeah… you guys are my friends, you're just trying to help. And who am I to stop you,".

Glimmer smiled and patted her shoulder again, looking up at Bow.

"Best Friends Squad Forever?".

They all nodded.

"Best Friends Squad Forever".


	5. When It Rains

"Has she moved at all?" Bow asked, looking over at Adora who sat quietly in the main hall, staring blankly out the windows at a passing rain storm that blew over Bright Moon.

"Uh, I don't think she can," Glimmer replied, sounding equally as worried as her friend, "She literally on crutches, Bow".

As it turned out, it wasn't a sprain Adora had suffered in the battle a few days prior, but a small break that required a cast. Needless to say, the blonde was less than pleased at the mandatory two weeks of bed rest… again.

"You know what I mean… has she moved at all since you brought her there this morning? Or asked to be moved?".

The princess shook her head, "She said she's fine and that she likes it there, you know… basic 'I don't know what I'm feeling so I'm going to hide my emotions' kinda thing? I honestly can't blame her though, but I don't want to push for an answer,".

"Me neither… but that's Adora for you," Bow said with a sorry sigh, "Did you talk to her?".

"Of course! She's just… sad, distant. I think she thinks I'm upset at her for getting hurt, but I already told her it's not her fault".

He frowned, looking over at the other girl again, "Maybe she's still kinda freaked out about not remembering how she got hurt,".

"Maybe," Glimmer replied, looking over at Adora herself, "Are you going to try and talk to her?".

"I think so," He said, "I'll catch up with you later. Maybe another sleepover will help her feel better,".

"I'll let my mom know you'll be staying over," the princess said, "Just… let Adora know that we're here for her? And that we're worried?".

Bow nodded silently, giving Glimmer one more smile before walking off towards the lone blonde, hoping that he could get through to her… or at least get her to smile. It wasn't often that it was just them hanging out, but the boy appreciated all the time they spent together regardless.

"What are you doing over here all by yourself?" he asked, walking up to Adora with a smile.

She flinched slightly, having not seen him walk up beside her, and shrugged. "Watching the rain," she said, continuing to stare curiously out the window, "Weather outside the Fright Zone is weird".

"Have you never seen rain before?".

"No," Adora said, finally turning to him for a moment, "Not really. I mean… I know what rain is, I've just never seen it in person before,".

Bow hummed, always finding it sad to discover something Adora was deprived of experiencing as a kid or growing up for that matter.

"It's beautiful, huh?".

She just shrugged again.

"Sure…"

A short, silent moment passes between them before Bow spoke up again.

"Are you okay? Glimmer and I are worried about you. You've been quiet ever since we got back from our last mission".

"I'm fine, Bow… really," Adora replied, seeming to really want him to believe her, even though by the sound of her voice, she didn't even believe herself. "I'm just… tired,".

He nodded understandingly, deciding to remain silent as they both continued to watch the rain, the rhythmic pitter-patter of the water droplets filling the empty air in the castle. Bow had to admit, it was relaxing to watch, distracting even, but not when you're trying to run away from something, especially when you're left alone with your thoughts.

"Do you want to get a closer look?".

Adora blinked all of a sudden, "What?".

"Come on, let's go outside!".

The girl just looked more confused, "But it's raining?".

"It'll be fine. It's spring, the water will be warm! Trust me, my dads would take me out in a spring rain all the time as a kid,".

After a moment of hesitation, and confused staring, she nodded, still seeming slightly apprehensive. "O...kay? Are you sure we won't get into trouble for sneaking out?".

"Why would you get in trouble?" Bow asked, leading her a hand as she got to her feet, picking up the crutch the Healer had given her, "You live here Adora,".

A slight flush or realization spread across her face for a moment as she laughed nervously, following the boy down the hall, wobbling slightly on the crutches. "Oh, I- I guess you're right. I'm still kinda getting used to living in a castle," she muttered, "And um, last time I snuck out, I found a magic sword in the woods, got captured and joined a rebellion. N- not that that's a bad thing!".

He chuckled softly and smiled, "Don't worry, Adora, you'll get used to living here eventually. It took me a long time to get used to being around the castle too, I've lived in the woods for as long as I can remember so this place was pretty foreign to me growing up. Plus, when Glimmer and I were little kids, I'd always end up getting lost when we played hide-n-seek,".

The girl paused for a moment with an odd look on her face, giving Bow the feeling that she had no idea what he was talking about.

"Hide-n-seek is a game," he explained briefly, "We'll add it to the list of things to show you. Now come on… the rain is letting up a bit, it should be perfect weather for sitting outside for a while,". With that, the boy walked up and held open a door leading to a small, partially covered patio filled with an assortment of plants and flowers, waiting as Adora entered, eyes full of wonder as she took in the sight before her.

"Wow…".

"Cool right?".

She nodded absently, seeming somewhat mesmerized by the sound of the rain again, or by the abundant amount of different and beautiful flowers.

"Come on," Bow said, gently tapping her shoulder, "Let's sit down for a bit, yeah?".

"Yeah," the blonde replied, once again following the boy as he led her to the only dry bench, which looked out over the entire garden.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Bow trying to figure out the best approach to coax Adora into opening up about what she was feeling, which was a feat only a few had accomplished. Even Glimmer struggled from time to time to get their friend to share her thoughts.

"So," Bow began, offering another soft smile, "Do you wanna talk? I'm here to listen?".

The girl didn't say anything at first, trying to focus on the rain for as long as she could. But, eventually, Adora turned and stared at him for a moment before sighing deeply and nodding.

"Yeah… I- I want to talk," she admitted.

Bow blinked, surprised that it was that easy to get her to open up.

"Okay… what's on your mind?".

She sighed again.

"I- It's stupid, Bow. I'm just… I'm just being my weird self again,".

Maybe it wouldn't be as easy as he thought.

"Your thoughts aren't stupid," he tried to reassure, "maybe you just don't understand them, but that's why we're here for, alright? To help you through the stuff you don't understand?".

"I know, I know. And I really appreciate you and Glimmer helping me adjust to living here and all but… *sigh* I- I don't think you guys can help me with this…not really anyways,".

"Well… we can always try, Adora. Now, I won't push anymore if you don't want to talk about it anymore but just know we're here for y-...".

Bow paused for a moment, watching as Adora suddenly forced herself up to her feet (or, rather… foot) and hobbled a little ways away, leaning against a pillar that held up the awning. Even though he probably should have, the boy refrained from saying anything, watching in silence as his friend winced in pain with each step she took, the crutch left abandoned on the bench.

"Adora?" Bow finally asked, worried that he somehow upset the blonde.

Adora just stood there, a few stray droplets of rain splashing her head and face.

He got up and walked beside her again.

"Are you okay?".

Still nothing.

Just the sound of the rain.

Maybe he should just go get Glimmer, Adora always seemed a bit more open with her, but then again, the princess already tried talking with her and was met with the same response. Perhaps just leaving Adora to work up the courage to come to them was a better Idea, but Bow hated the thought of just leaving Adora to wallow in her own sadness and confusion.

Maybe like Glimmer said… just being there was enough.

Still, Bow wished there was more he could do.

"What's it like?" the Blonde said suddenly, right as he began to turn and sit back down on the bench.

"Huh?".

Adora took a breath.

"Having parents… what's it like?".

Oh… oh.

Well, this was a conversation Bow definitely wasn't expecting to have.

"I… it's-".

How could he explain parents to someone who never had (or even met) a caring adult figure until recently? It made him feel lucky to have two loving dads to look after him but at the same time… guilty that Adora didn't really have anyone.

"It feels safe," he decided.

"Safe," Adora repeated, no real emotion registering in her tone yet, "That… sounds nice,".

"It is… it really is,".

More silence after that.

The rain continued to fall.

"When I was little," the blonde continued, "I remember S- Shadow Weaver telling me how she found me as a baby, and how she raised me as her own and… and how much she cherished me. I always thought she meant it, I thought that… maybe I meant something to her, for a while… I'd say I felt safe. But all that turned out to be a lie, I was just a tool, a weapon to her… her perfect little soldier. Nothing else and nothing more,".

Bow remained silent for a moment, not sure if he should respond to that, even if he could think of something to say. He knew that talking about the Horde (especially Shadow Weaver) was never easy for Adora, and rarely came up in conversation, if ever.

"I think that's the closest I've been to having a parent,".

"Adora… Shadow Weaver wasn't your mom, or anything close to resembling a parent," He said, "She was your abuser, parents don't act like that… at all,".

She shot him a blank stare for a moment, blinking a few times.

"Abuser? But…".

"Shadow Weaver hurt you, Adora… maybe not physically, but mentally? From what you've told us, Yes. She abused you. And Catra,".

Another stare and Adora just blinked.

"Catra," she repeated, her voice suddenly void of all emotion.

Maybe bringing up Catra wasn't such a good idea, Bow realized.

"Shadow Weaver would… hurt her. To punish me. How… how could I forget that? Oh, god… oh god, Catra,".

"Adora? What's -?! Hey, take it easy, it's okay," the boy said, placing a steady hand on the blonde's shoulder as she began to wobble again, "Let's sit down again… you're going to hurt your ankle more if you try to stand on it,".

Adora just nodded numbly, a hand pressed against her head as she sat back down.

"Can you tell me what's going on?" Bow asked as he sat beside her, now wondering if he really should go get Glimmer, or… someone, "I want to help,".

"S- she… she took my memories away," she said, "She'd make me forget what she did to Catra… how she hurt her...how she hurt me . I- I remember it now… I remember it,".

The princess had told him about Adora almost getting her mind wiped when the rest of the Princess Alliance came to rescue them from the Fright Zone, and how she realized that that might not have been the only time Shadow Weaver tried to take/ had taken the blonde's memories, since Adora's own memories of her childhood where already spotty at best. Now, occasionally if something was said to trigger a memory, Adora would start remembering things that Shadow Weaver tried to get her to forget.

When seemed to be what was happening now.

"It… it makes sense now, w- why she felt like I never protected her, only myself. I didn't know, I didn't know! Oh god… we promised to look out for each other, didn't we? And I failed her, I forgot our promise... It's my fault she hates me. It's my fault she wants to kill me. It's all my fault...".

"Don't talk like that," He pleaded, "It's not your fault you couldn't remember your promise. And Catra is her own person, you're aren't responsible for her actions,".

"But I am!" Adora exclaimed, "I- I was… I was,".

Carefully, Bow took her hands, pulling them away from her face as he tried to get her attention. "Listen to yourself, Adora. You and Catra made your own decision, you chose different paths and… we can't change that. But it wasn't your fault. None of this was your fault, okay? It just happened, no one is at fault.".

The girl just shook her head, taking a short, wavering breath.

"But why is this happening? W- what did we do to deserve this? What did Catra do?".

That was something Bow desperately wished he could answer, but had no words to make his friend feel better. It was clear that Adora still struggled to accept the fact that Catra had taken her side with the enemy, only choosing to hold on to what little (if there was even any) sentiment that had left.

But Bow had to give her credit for not giving up hope on someone she still thought of as a friend… even if that friend was actually the enemy.

"I just… I feel guilty," Adora explained, now seeming like she was desperately trying to sound like she was about to cry even though she was, "Shadow Weaver only hurt Catra because of me because I did something wrong. I wasn't doing enough… as her friend, fellow cadet… I should have done more!".

Still, Bow remained silent, allowing her to vent through her thoughts and feelings, not much else he could do or say..

"S- sometimes," she continued, "I wonder if she was right… if Catra had gotta rid of me sooner, or if we had never met, would she be better off? Would she be happier? Safer? I'd never know. But then I feel selfish, thinking about what life would be like if… if Shadow Weaver never found me, you know? Would I know who my parents are, would I have a family… stuff like that. I- I like my life now, you guys are my best friends, don't get me wrong, I just…".

Adora's voice finally trailed off, a soft sob escaping her lips.

"I just want to know what she took away from me,".

Doing what he did best, Bow immediately wrapped his arms around the blonde, holding her in a tight embrace. He still didn't say anything, not sure if apologizing and saying he wished things were different would make things better. So they just sat there, Adora eventually returning the gesture as she sobbed silently into her friend's shoulder, trembling ever so slightly.

Still lost for words, the boy could only hope that his being there was enough.

* * *

Bow wasn't sure how long they sat out there in the rain, but eventually, Adora pulled away, her face stained with tears and raindrops. She didn't say anything, trying to recompose herself as best she could, wiping at her cheeks as she continued to sniffle and hiccup softly.

"Are you okay now?" he finally asked, resting a gentle hand on her shoulder.

The blonde nodded and took a short breath, her voice sounding small and shaken, "I think so… I'm… sorry for, breaking down like that… again. I'm trying not to make it a habit,".

"You don't need to apologize, Adora. It's okay to be a little bit vulnerable sometimes,".

"I know… but still… I'm sorry,".

"Don't be, okay? You have nothing to apologize for".

She smiled softly and looked up at him, sniffling again, "Thanks listening to me, Bow. It… it means a lot, I know my memories can be… intense sometimes,".

"I'm always here to listen, Adora," Bow said, "I know it couldn't have been easy and… I'm sorry you have to go through this, I wish there was more I could do to make the situation better, but at least you don't have to go through it alone,".

That earned a small chuckle from Adora which of course made Bow smile back.

"I'm glad about that… doubt I'd be able to handle this myself. I honestly don't deserve friends like you and Glimmer,".

"Of course you do!" the boy exclaimed, "You deserve the best!".

"And it looks like I got just that," Adora replied, her warm chuckle slowly fading into a comfortable silence.

Nothing but the sound of the rain to keep them company.

"Ready to go back inside?" Bow said after a moment.

"Not yet," she replied simply, "I… I want to listen to the rain some more. It's…kinda relaxing, ".

"It really is, huh? Well, I'm glad we found _something_ that can help you relax," Bow teased lightly, laughing when Adora rolled her eyed and bumped shoulders with him, "Only took a few months,".

She chuckled a bit and smiled, "It's really been that long, hasn't it?"

Bow nodded, "Yup,".

"Wow," the blonde said, wiping at her face once before sighing almost contently.

"You okay?"

"Yeah… I'm just _really_ glad I decided to sneak out that day,".

Notes:


	6. In The Dark Of Night

_"ADORA!"._

 _Adora stopped dead in her tracks, her body instinctually responding with a salute when the voice of Shadow Weaver echoed behind her._

 _"Yes, Ma'am!" She said, standing stock still as the shadowed woman hovered over to her, a trembling figure following suit, a harsh, ugly red aura surrounding them. The blonde tried not to heed them any mind, used to seeing Shadow Weaver hauling around a disobedient cadet, paralyzed by her magic, in order to teach them a lesson._

 _But this cadet… looked all too familiar._

 _Adora stiffening up at the sight of her friend being held against her will, seeing the pain and utter fear trapped in her different colored eyes. "Catra?" she said, holding back the overwhelming urge to reach out and grab her._

 _The other girl didn't say anything, wincing when the woman yelled again._

 _"Where have you been!"._

 _The blonde snapped back into position and saluted again._

 _"I was training, Ma'am, with the other cadets"._

 _She was indeed training, albeit distracted while waiting for Catra to arrive for their lesson. That was what she had been doing before Shadow Weaver stopped her, looking for her friend before she got into even more trouble… but it was too late for that._

 _"Then why wasn't she with you!" the woman screeched, even causing Adora to flinch momentarily. She basically threw the other girl forward, still trapped by magic, anger seething from each word, "You're supposed to look after her!"._

 _Adora watched as Catra's ears folded back, knowing how much she hated it when Shadow Weaver referred to her as if she were a pet or a plaything, but it wasn't like the blonde could defend her friend and speak up against their superior… no one dared talk back to Shadow Weaver._

 _No matter how much she wanted to._

 _"I'm sorry, Ma'am. It won't happen again, Ma'am," she said, trying to get Catra to look at her, show that she was sorry there wasn't anything she could do. But the girl refused to look at her, shooting her a look of utter disdain._

 _"I should hope not," Shadow Weaver said, "I expect more from you, Adora. You need to do better,"._

 _And with that, the woman unceremoniously released her magic on the girl, watching as she fell to her knees with a heavy thud. The blonde immediately fell by her side, wanting to help Catra as she struggled to get to her feet. But the other girl wouldn't have it, shouldering Adora away as she stood up on her own, eyes cast down word away from everyone's gaze._

 _"Now, I expect both of you to return to the training barracks and make up for the time you lost," Shadow Weaver said, her voice returning to the eerily calm tone, "And this time be sure she stays in your sights, Adora. Or I might have a word with Hordak about her disobedience,"._

 _Bringing Hordak into any matter was serious business, and while none of the cadets had seen the leader of the Fright Zone, everyone knew the power he held. Cadets would disappear in the middle of the night after failing to complete a task to satisfactory levels, only to return in an almost blank, catatonic state._

 _No one knew what happened, and no one was willing to find out._

 _"Yes, Ma'am. Right away, Ma'am," Adora said, grabbing Catra by the arm with the intent of dragging her back to the training barracks. It didn't matter if she had to go through all the exercises again, it just meant more experience. "Come on, Catra. Let's go…"._

 _But Catra?_

 _Catra didn't budge._

 _"No," she said, so calmly and firmly, that Adora couldn't help but shiver, already knowing the outcome of disobeying orders, "Why should I listen to you?"._

 _All Adora could do was just stare back at her friend in shock. "What are you doing?!" She whispered, jumping back when Shadow Weaver hovered above them._

 _She was fuming._

 _Literally._

 _Thick clouds of darkness surrounded them as the women screamed, the red aura returned around Catra to paralyze her. "HOW DARE YOU DEFY ME!" Shadow Weaver yelled, "Insolent child, I will not have you drag Adora down to your lowly levels. Now, you **will** obey orders, you **will** begin training immediately, you **will** listen to Cadet Adora, understood?!"._

 _Catra just chuckled dryly, "Or what?" she taunted, seemingly daring the woman to act._

 _And act she did._

 _Adora barely saw the woman move. One second she was standing there, seething with anger, then the next her hand was around Catra's neck, not choking her, just holding her, staring at her with lifeless eyes._

 _"Face the consequences"._

 _…_

 _…_

 _…_

 _"Let her go,"._

 _Shadow Waver froze, Catra pausing in her struggles as she turning her head to look at Adora in utter shock and surprise._

 _The blonde wasn't even aware of her words until she heard herself speak, her voice low, but still firm and demanding. Her fists were up out of instinct, ready for a fight just like she'd been taught her whole life._

 _"What did you say?" the woman asked, dropping Catra to the ground again as the red aura wrapped itself around Adora, forcing her arms down to her side._

 _It hurt… and she struggled, but she still managed to speak._

 _"Stop hurting her…"._

 _The magic grew stronger… almost suffocating._

 _"What do you think you're doing, Adora. I expect such disobedience from Catra… but from you?" The woman said, her hand reaching up and brushing the side of her face, "What is she doing to you, corrupting your mind like that? I am just teaching her a lesson… don't make me teach you one too,"._

 _In the background, Catra bristled looking at the sight in front of her with fear and confusion as Shadow Weaver turned on her star pupil. "You wouldn't dare," she said daringly, "Adora's your pride and joy… you wouldn't hurt her,"._

 _That only angered the woman more, her magic growing even stronger to the point where Adora yelped in genuine pain._

 _"Then you know nothing about me," Shadow Weaver said, pushing past the girl, now dragging Adora along behind her, "This is your consequence,"._

 _Adora had no idea what was going on, or where Shadow Weaver was taking her, but it felt familiar in a way she knew it shouldn't. She continued to struggle in pain, looking over at Catra who just stared at them as they passed._

 _"C- Catra!" the blonde cried, "Help!"._

 _But Catra still didn't move, and Adora watched as she slowly faded from view as the woman dragged her down the corridors. It felt like a stab in the back, Catra was her best friend… perhaps something more. They did everything together, they always had each other's backs and yet…_

 _She refused to shed any tears, choosing to accept whatever punishment Shadow Weaver was going to enforce. She would make up with Catra later, but for now, Adora watched the shocked faces of the other Cadets and Force Captains as they passed, all of them knowing that she was the star pupil that never got into trouble._

 _After a moment, the blonde realized where she was being taken…_

 _Shadow Weaver's private quarters._

 _She had never been in there, but the sense of dread that settled in her gut upon seeing the room was hauntingly familiar._

 _She didn't know why._

 _And she didn't want to find out._

 _"I want you to know that I dislike doing this, Adora," Shadow Weaver said once the doors closed behind them, a large glowing red stone sitting in the middle of the room, "But you leave me no choice. There are just some things you simply mustn't know about or remember,"._

 _Adora was still lost as to what was happening, watching as the woman suddenly summoned a large table with straps on it from thin air._

 _Why was it familiar? Why did it fill her with such a deep sense of dread that she couldn't think straight? Why couldn't she remember? **What** couldn't she remember?_

 _"What are you going to do?" she asked, the magic around her disappearing as she stumbled forward. The worst that Shadow Weaver could do was give her a stern talking to, as physical forms of discipline where discouraged. Being put on latrine duty for a month wasn't a big deal, neither was being given extra combat training lessons, that worked in her favor._

 _But that didn't explain the table._

 _The woman didn't respond, she just grabbed the blonde and forced her onto the table, her magic quickly securing the restraints._

 _"This is for your own good," she finally said, "I need you to be the best, so I will make you the best,"._

 _Adora immediately tried to jerk away but was met with pain as the restraints tightened around her wrists and chest. "What are you doing?!" she demanded again, watching as Shadow Weaver milled around the large stone, seeming to draw energy from it, "What are you going to do to me?!"._

 _"Make you compliant," she said again, "We can't have that when you see things you shouldn't, now can we?"._

 _She was even more confused._

 _"What are you talking about?!" she yelled, thrashing around in protest, "What are you going to do?!"._

 _Shadow Waver just approached the blonde, her hands extended as she gently caressed the side of her face, the darkness surrounding them again._

 _"It doesn't matter now," she said, red magic oozing from her hands, "It'll all be over soon, child, you won't remember a thing"._

 _All Adora could do, was scream._

* * *

Adora woke up in a cold sweat, somehow able to clap a hand over her mouth just in time to muffle a scream as it tried to escape her throat. She could hear her heart pounding wildly in her ears as she struggled to catch her breath, her mind racing as it tried to process the contents of her dream. Her body was trembling slightly as she scanned the room in panic, trying to take in her surroundings and make sure she wasn't back in the Fright Zone.

But Adora was safe in her own room, Bow and Glimmer sleeping on the floor around her bed, all of them having a much-needed sleepover after the previous day's occurrences. And given what she remembered about the things that Shadow Weaver would do to her and Catra, it wasn't all that surprising that her dreams consisted of yet another stolen memory.

But it still shook her to her very core.

The blonde struggled to hold back a sob, trying not to think about how Catra had stood there and watched as she was taken away to have her memory wiped. Had she really meant nothing to her? Or had Adora's own actions made the other girl feel like she was nothing but a pet to her. Maybe she did bask in the glory of being Shadow Weaver's favorite while ignoring the abuse Catra was going through because of that.

She took a shuttering breath, a small broken whimper breaking through her lips. Everything was dark and quiet, both her friends were asleep, not seeming to have heard her wake up and start crying… at least not at first.

Glimmer woke up a while later, of course, hearing Adora try to cover up her quiet sobs without much success. "Adora?" The princess said, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, "Are you okay? What's wrong?".

She didn't respond, not sure if she could even formulate words without completely dissolving into tears. So, as a result, she just shook her head and continued to cry, not really caring if anyone saw her. She wasn't afraid to be seen as vulnerable anymore…

It took a second of staring for the smaller girl to realize what was going on, her eyes growing wide as she lept out of bed to comfort Adora, her arms immediately wrapped around her shoulders. Adora welcomed the hug graciously, returning the gesture as tightly as she could without hurting her friend.

"It's okay," Glimmer whispered, "You're safe… I'm here,".

She just sobbed, burying her face in the other girl's shoulder. In truth, Adora wasn't sure what it was about the princess that made her feel so safe, filling her with a warm, fuzzy feeling she still couldn't describe. All she knew is that she never wanted that feeling to go away.

"Did you have a nightmare?".

Adora nodded, taking a sharp ragged breath. "Y- yeah…" she replied weakly, despite knowing full and well that it wasn't a dream, but a memory, one that she would definitely consider a nightmare nonetheless.

"Well, it's over now, okay? You're safe," the princess reassured, moving back from the hug as she reaching up and wiped at the tears left on Adora's cheeks, "You're always going to be safe here, I promise,".

The blonde didn't move, she just froze as Glimmer gently caressed the side of her face, just like Shadow Weaver had done in the past while taking her memories away. Had it been anyone else, she probably would have pushed away, panicked, maybe even screamed but… Adora didn't feel threatened by this action. She knew that the princess would never hurt her or wish harm upon her, so the gesture, while not expected and mildly unnerving, felt almost... comforting.

After a lack of positive (or any) response, Glimmer pulled her hand away as if suddenly realizing what she was doing. "Oh! I'm sorry," she said, "I forgot you don't like it when people touch your-".

She stopped midsentence, though, and Adora felt the other girl watch her as she sheepishly picked up her hand again, holding it gently for a moment before returning it to the position it was moments ago, pressing it gently against her cheek.

"-face…".

She kept her head down for a moment, almost embarrassed to look back up at Glimmer who was obviously staring at her with confusion. "I trust you," Adora admitted with a light sniffle, "Y- you make me feel safe, it's okay,".

The princess was silent for a moment, and all the blonde could do was hold her breath, hoping that Glimmer didn't think she was being weird again. But, to her surprise, she felt the other girl gently drag her thumb across her cheek and whisper, "Okay".

Adora shivered slightly (a pleasant feeling this time) at the gesture and finally brought her gaze up to meet Glimmer's. She was smiling softly, seeming to be genuinely touched by the girl's trust in her. Of course, the blonde smiled back with a large, stupid grin on her face.

Neither girl said anything, the just continued to look at each other and smile, Glimmer eventually taking hold of Adora's free hand and intertwining their fingers. Adora had no idea why her heart suddenly started beating wildly in her chest again, she wasn't scared, she wasn't in danger, the nightmare had passed.

It was just her and Glimmer.

And everything felt right.

.*.

"So, are you two going to kiss or what?" Bow suddenly said, causing both girls to yelp and pull away from each other. Neither had noticed the boy wake up, or even realized he was watching them.

"Bow!" Glimmer said, chuckling rather nervously as she grabbed a pillow off of Adora's bed and chucked it at the boy, "How long have you been watching us?".

Judging how embarrassed the princess looked, Adora decided that perhaps this wasn't the time to ask what a kiss was. So she remained silent and giggled along as her friends through the pillow between themselves for a moment.

"Not long," he replied with a laugh, grabbing the pillow and throwing it back to the princess for a final time, "But I thought I heard you crying, Adora. Is everything okay?".

And just like that, Adora remembered everything. She remembered the nightmare, she remembered the pain and the fear from Shadow Weaver erasing her mind. She remembered Catra, and how much they ended up hurting each other… intentionally or not. It was like a wall that came crumbling down, and everything was flooding back.

She blinked and shook her head, "No".

"She had a nightmare," Glimmer confirmed, offering a timid smile again, "But you're okay now… right?".

As much as she wished to say yes, Adora knew better than to hide from her problems.

"Not really," she admitted with a weak tone.

Glimmer and Bow looked at each other with concern.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.

She did, she very much so wanted to talk about all that was ailing her, but Adora just wasn't sure how. Everything was still fresh in her mind, and it still hurt deeply. Only a few months ago had she thought her life was relatively normal, but now her whole world was turned upside down and hardly anything made sense. She was in the middle of a war, fighting against the people who raised her and working alongside people she once saw as the enemy, pulled into the mix by a magic sword and destiny.

Part of her wanted to refuse what Light Hope had told her, refuse her task to defend the entirety of Etheria and just be a normal kid. But the was no such thing as normal for anyone, with the constant threat from the Horde, the world needed She-Ra. And Adora couldn't just let more innocent people get hurt… not if she could help it. The blonde knew what she had to do, of course, train with Light Hope so she could better understand how to control She-Ra's powers and the meaning behind them, but she hoped that she could put that off for as long as she could, not wanting to leave the few good things in her life so soon after finding them.

Adora refused to abandon another set of friends the way she abandoned Catra.

So with a small, shaking sigh, she told them everything.

* * *

 **OOC:This is gonna be long so buckle in...**

 **At the end of the dream, there was supposed to be a part where Adora wakes up in the infirmary, but it wouldn't have worked with the way the story played out, so I'll just put it here as it does give Catra's actions some context. Yes, Catra did get Adora in trouble on purpose, cause... why not? She always gets into trouble and Adora always gets off scot-free. So, if Shadow Weaver decided to punish Adora for something Catra caused since "she's your responsibility" what would happen? Adora gets her mind wiped. Albeit, she doesn't know what Shadow Weaver did to her, Catra felt guilty for hurting her friend, but at this point, I think she's questioning what a friend is. Adora is obsessed with training and impressing Shadow Weaver that she's too busy protecting her own image that she doesn't realize what's happening to Catra.**  
 **Until she does.**

* * *

 **DELETED SCENE | INFIRMARY**

* * *

 **"Hey. Adora... you awake?".**

 **The blonde slowly opened her eyes in response to the voice, wincing at the harsh white light that shone above her. Things where still hazy as her mind tried to place where she was, things slowly coming into view. The sharp, pungent scent or sterilizing alcohol was enough to tell her that she was in the infirmary, but the lack of humming machinery confirmed it. The infirmary was one of the only quiet places in all of the Fright Zone, as it was almost always empty.**

 **"Adora?".**

 **"I'm awake," she replied groggily, smiling at the sound of her friend's voice, "I'm awake,".**

 **Catra sighed with forced relief, "Good. I was worried".**

 **"What happened?" she asked, wincing as she sat up on the stiff hospital cot, her head throbbing slightly, "I don't remember,".**

 **"You got knocked out doing training," the other girl answered, almost too easily, "Lonnie has one mean uppercut".**

 **That would explain the headache.**

 **"Oh... really? Well, I just have to make sure I train harder so I can beat her during sparring practice next week, huh?" Adora said with a light laugh, poking Catra in the side with her elbow.**

 **She didn't even laugh, just shrugged and got up, seeming...tense about something. Her ears were laid back against her head and she overall seemed skittish, trying to avoid any conversation.**

 **Almost like she was guilty about something.**

 **"Catra?".**

 **"Get some rest, Adora. Come get me once you're discharged, You know where to find me," the girl said before abruptly walking off, leaving the blonde utterly confused. But, in her defense, Catra wasn't the type of person to stick around and wait for something, always looking for something to do or trouble to cause.**

 **"Okay... just, stay out of trouble?" she said.**

 **Catra just sneered and rolled her eyes, saying "sure, whatever" before disappearing down a corridor.**

 **Adora watched her leave, wondering what got her so worked up and tense. She was sure her friend would tell her eventually, but for the time being, she settled back down in the cot and tried to clear the odd hazy that stuck in her head, already planning her moves for the next time she faced Lonnie.**

* * *

Yeah, so I hope you enjoyed!

More chapters coming soon, and I swear the fluff is coming, but for now, enjoy the angst :D

*I have all of the chapters plotted up until the release of season 2, so please save the prompts for when I have more content to work with, your comments are appreciated and taken into account :D


	7. Missing

Glimmer was… worried.

She tried to tell herself not to be, convince herself that she was just overreacting and that everything was fine… but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

Adora had been absent for the better part of the morning, which that in itself was odd since the blonde hardly ever wandered off on her own. Most mornings, they'd enjoy breakfast together, talk about the day's plans and just enjoy the rest of the day hanging out with Swift Wind or practicing battle strategies. But, the girl had insisted on exploring the castle herself for a while, wanting to get used to the intricate hallways of the place she called home.

" _I've lived here for almost 3 months. I- I want to get to know the kingdom better,"_ Adora had said, making both Bow and Glimmer glad that she was adjusting well to life in Bright Moon But, at the same time, Glimmer was worried, remembering the time she first brought her past the castle walls. The guards still watch over the former Horde soldier often, as if waiting for her to make a wrong move, or do something that would warrant her disposal. Frankly, it scared both of them, but Adora never showed, always opting to say that it was fine and that she understood their fear.

But, Glimmer could tell just how much it scared her and worried about whenever Adora was left on her own.

She had to convince herself that the guards wouldn't openly try to hurt her friend… but she could never be too sure.

"I'm really worried, Bow," the princess said, trying to mask the utter concern in her voice as she and Bow patiently awaited their friend's return, "I haven't seen Adora in a few hours, and we're supposed to go back to the village today,"

"I know… I am too, but I'm sure she's fine," the boy tried to reassure, "It's a big castle, maybe Adora just lost track of time,".

Glimmer just stared at him, both of them knowing full and well that the other girl was the most punctual of all of them.

"Okay, maybe she didn't lose track of time, but it's not like she's going to get herself into trouble or anything. Well find her, okay?".

"But I've looked everywhere, Bow!" the princess exclaimed, burying her face in her pillow, "I've looked in all the rooms, all the gardens, all the places she could be, and it's like she's just disappeared!"

"Did you check the stables? Maybe she's with Swift Wind?".

Glimmer opened her mouth to protest before realizing that… that's the one place she hadn't looked, the Bright Moon stables being clear across the village surrounding the castle. She doubted that Adora had gone over there on her own, Swift Wind usually opting to go to the castle instead of having the girl come to him.

"Do you think she'd go see him on her own? You know she doesn't usually wander too far from the castle… or us for that matter,".

Bow shrugged, "She did say she wanted to get out more on her own, Glimmer, especially now that she can walk on her own now. I don't see what the big deal is,".

"It's not a big deal, it's just…".

The princess hesitated for a moment, giving her friend a worried smile.

"I worry about her being alone, that's all. The guards are… still _wary_ of her, plus, so are the rest of the villagers. I don't think she knows, but I hear them whisper about her when they think she can't hear them and it's not all good things,".

"They won't hurt her, Glimmer. She's part of the rebellion now, and besides, Adora can hold her own better than anyone we know,".

"But she shouldn't _need_ to hold her own, Bow!" the girl exclaimed, "She _lives_ her… and… and I don't want the villagers to give her a reason to fight back. We both know what will happen if she did,".

Bow remained silent, looking away with a small sigh. "You really think, even after everything that happens, that your mom would… do that to Adora?".

Glimmer nodded, a few tears welling up in her eyes. "I think that no matter what happens, my mom is always going to think of Adora as just a Horde soldier, even though she saved us all,".

"But didn't your mom talk to her? I thought all was forgiven?".

"It was… but forgiving one soldier doesn't take away the pain of losing… of losing my dad to her old army. Mom is going to be wary of Adora for… for a long time I think,".

Neither teen said anything for a long while, both sitting in the odd heavy energy the princess had created. Glimmer still couldn't shake the feeling that something had happened to prevent Adora from returning to them, and it scared her to think about what might have happened.

She only looked up when Bow got up from his spot, standing up and walking towards her with a patient smile. "Come on," he said, offering the princess his hand, "let's go find Adora, she couldn't have gotten too far".

Glimmer smiled a little, taking the boys had as she stood up and followed him out of her room. "Thanks, Bow," she said, "I'm... I'm sorry for being such a worry wart,".

"You don't need to apologize, Glimmer. I understand,".

"Y- you do?".

The boy nodded, "Of course! I know how much you care about Adora, it's only right that you'd be worried about her. She clearly means a lot to you,".

The princess blushed and looked away, her face growing even redder as Bow laughed. "It's just a crush, Bow," she said, "And it's not like she likes me back or anything…".

"Oh, I doubt that. Adora definitely likes you too,".

Glimmer blushed even more, suddenly stumbling over her words. "I- I uh, um. Adora didn't… _say_ anything… did she? How- How do you know she likes me too?".

"Trust me, I know. I mean, just by the way you two look at each other and talk to each other and interact, she definitely has at least some kind of feelings for you. Adora might not be aware of them, but I think they're there,".

There was a small bit of doubt blooming in the back of her mind, but the princess pushed forward and tried to remain positive and optimistic about that situation, trying to focus on finding the girl in question.

"I really hope you're right," she muttered, keeping her eyes and voice low when they passed by a guard, not exactly wanting anyone to know about her crush on Adora, especially anyone who might relay her little secret up to the queen.

"Princess, Bow," They greeted, bowing their head slightly in respect, "Where are you headed off to?".

Before Glimmer could make up an excuse, Bow gladly responded about what they were up to. "Oh, we're looking for Adora!" he said, "You haven't happened to see her, have you?".

The guard's expression changed, and Glimmer couldn't tell what she was thinking, but she knew it couldn't have been good. "I have not. Why? Is she missing?".

"No! Not missing, just uh… we're just playing hide-n-seek and… Bow and I can't find her," the princess said, internally facepalming at how stupid and unbelievable that excuse sounded, Bow even giving her an odd look as a result.

"Uh-huh," The guard said, clearly not believing a word of her's, "I'll keep an eye out for her… and tell the other guards outside the castle. We'll tell you if we see anything,".

"Okay…," she muttered, holding her breath until the guard walked past them again, "Thanks".

"Thanks," Bow replied, turning to Glimmer with a confused look once they were alone again, "What was that about? They were just trying to help us,".

"I'm not sure they were, Bow. That was the guard that started harassing Adora when we first tried to go out into the village,".

"Really?".

She nodded.

"Then we better find Adora before anyone else does,".

"Agreed," Glimmer said, grabbing onto Bow's arm as she teleported them out of the castle.

* * *

The stables where… nearly empty, much to Glimmer and Bow's dismay. Swift Wind was there, at least, along with a few other horses he was talking to, but Adora was nowhere to be found.

"So she hasn't come by at all?" the princess asked, now completely paniced and worried, "I thought she was supposed to visit you today,".

"She was," the horse said, "But I thought she'd come and visit with you guys,".

"Apparently Adora felt brave and decided to go out on her own," Bow sighed, "But we haven't seen her all day,".

"Do… do you think she's in danger, Swift Wind?".

Glimmer still couldn't shake the feeling that something terrible had happened to Adora, and it scared her senseless. It was already bad enough that she didn't know where she was, but the added paranoia of not knowing if she was hurt or… or worse didn't help.

Maybe it was intuition, maybe it was something more, but all the princess knew was that they needed to find Adora… no matter what.

"I- I don't know," he replied, "I haven't felt that Adora was in danger. Do you guys want me to go help you look for her?".

"I think we should try to keep a low profile for now," Bow said, patting the horse's mane gently "the guards are already suspicious and we don't want to get Adora in trouble,".

"Why would she get in troub-".

Swift Wind didn't even finish his sentence, a sudden commotion from the village drawing all their attention. A few guards ran past the stables, hurrying towards the source of the yelling while one of them stopped when she saw Bow and Glimmer in the stables.

"What's going on?" she asked, praying to the First One's that the commotion didn't have anything to do with Adora's disappearance, "What happened?".

The guard ignored her question and gestured outside, "Come with me, princess. It's important,".

"Tell me what happened?!" Glimmer said again, tears already threatening her eyes, "Please…".

There was a long moment of scilence before the gurad said anything, a heavy sigh passing her lips before she spoke. "I think we know what happened to your friend. Now, please… come with me, Princess, I'll explain more on the way".

And just like that, all the air seemed to be sucked out of the room, leaving Glimmer to audiably gasp. She looked towards Bow, hoping for guidance, or comfort or something, but all the princess got in return was the same startled expression she had. Neither of them moved or said anything until Swift Wind nudged them with his nose, urging them to move.

"Bow?" the girl mumbled, following blindly as he grabbed her hand and followed the guard out to the village where a small crowd of villagers and guards were congregated. She couldn't see anything yet, but Glimmer could hear the voices of a few children, followed by the angry bellows of the guards.

"What are you doing with this?!" one of the guards yelled, "How did you get this?".

"We found it!" A young boy's voice replied, clearly terrified.

"Where?".

"Near the edge of the woods!".

"What were you doing there?".

"We were playing and we found the sword!".

As the bickering continued, Glimmer stiffened up when she heard the guards and the boy talking about finding a sword, a sinking feeling settling in her gut when she realized what that could mean. Adora rarely let anyone touch her sword, and never let anyone play with it, let alone a child. So for someone to find it lying out on the open could only mean something happened to separate the blonde from her weapon.

And Glimmer dreaded thinking about what that was.

"What happened?" she muttered, looking up at the guard with concern, "Where's Adora?".

"We're not sure," she replied, "one of the guards came across a group of boys playing with your friend's sword near the edge of the Whispering Woods. We did a simple parameter sweep and found nothing except…".

"Except what?" Bow asked, just as worried and as panicked as Glimmer, "What did you find?".

The guard sighed again.

"We found some blood around the area where the sword was 'found'. None of it seems to be from the boys who found the sword, so one can only assume that there was some sort of confrontation between them,".

Glimmer just blinked, struggling to prosses what she was being told.

"What do you mean confrontation? Is she okay?" Bow asked, "Did they attack her?".

"It… seems that way," the guard said, giving both teens a sorry smile, "We found out that all the boys had… they all had someone taken from them in the war, so… unfortunately, their motives are understandable,"

"Where is she?" Glimmer asked, angry that anyone would try to justify causing harm to an innocent person just because of their past ties. Besides, Adora never wanted to hurt anyone, she even told them that the first day they all met, and the princess believed that without a doubt.

"We... don't know, we only have her sword and a few spots of blood to go off of. We're guessing she ran off into the woods to hide".

"And you haven't gone to look for her?!" Glimmer exclaimed, now growing upset. Here she thought that this guard was different, she seemed worried at first, but she was just like all the rest, only seeing Adora as the enemy instead of an ally. They weren't here to help, they were only there to watch over and monitor her actions. "Uhhg! I'm going to give those brats a piece of my mind, how dare they hurt my friends! Don't they know who I am?!".

"Glimmer!" Bow said, grabbing hold of her arm to prevent her from storming off, "Calm down, I know you're scared and upset, but you can't go about yelling at villagers, you're their princess, remember? We'll send out a search party, okay? We're going to find Adora, I promise,".

Glimmer sniffled slightly and looked up at Bow, "You're right,".

A small, broken smile brought up the edges of his lips, only to have it fade when the girl continued.

"I am the princess," she muttered, wiping her arm across her face, "and nobody messes with my friends,".

Glimmer pulled away from Bow's grasp before he was able to say anything, teleporting herself up to the guard and group of boys, eyes red and tears staining her cheeks. She didn't care about the consequences her mother might enforce on her, she was old enough to take matters into her own hands, and deal with the aftermath of her choices.

"Princess?" the head guard said, surprised to see her sudden appearance, "What are you-".

"Stand down," she said.

"What? I can't-".

But the girl cut her off.

"I said, stand down. That's an order, I'll handle this,".

It wasn't like they could say no to her, a small perk of being a princess. So, without another, the guard stood down, looking over at the small group of boys who were basically quivering in their boots as she approached, one of them clutching Adora's sword closely. Glimmer barely even noticed the hush that blew over there crowd, all of them watching eagerly to see how she dealt with the situation.

She didn't say a word as she walked up to them, slowly and carefully taking the sword out of their grasp, continuing to just stare at them unmoving. It wasn't often that she made appearances out in the village, or to political meetings despite being the commander of Bright Moon's small army, but when she did, no one really knew what to expect.

Until now at least.

"Don't you ever think about hurting her, or anyone else again," Glimmer finally hissed, "Remember who's going to be your queen one day. I will not tolerate such behavior in my kingdom, you understand me? Adora did nothing to warrant you attacking her,".

"But she-" one of the boys began, flinching when the princess didn't let him continue.

"Adora is not the Horde, she is not your enemy! That girl you beat up left her whole life behind to help fight for you, to help protect your home, and that's how you treat her?".

"But-".

"No 'buts'," the princess snapped, clutching the sword again, "promise me it will not happen again,".

The boys nodded in fear, nearly shaking in their boots, "Yes Princess, sorry Princess. It won't happen again,".

"It had better not, and once we find Adora and tend to her, I expect all of you to return to the castle and formally apologize to her for what you did, is that clear,".

"Y- yes, Princess," they all muttered.

"Good. Now get out of here,".

And just like that, the boys scattered, running off in different directions as the crowd slowly dispersed around them, light whispers being spread around as they left, clearly not expecting the scene that just played out.

Glimmer sighed, not quite realizing just how tense she was during that entire exchange. She'd been holding back tears and trembles of her own, wanting nothing more than to run into the woods and search for the missing girl. But she could barely move, standing stock still in the now empty village square, leaning against Adora's sword for support.

Bow was still there, walking up to Glimmer as she slowly sank to her knees, overwhelmed by tears and anxiety. She immediately wrapped her arms around the boy when he hugged her, continuing to cry into his shoulder, desperate to recompose herself before anyone else saw her… but it was just no use.

"It's going to be okay," Bow said, his voice heavy with tears of his own, "It's going to be okay, we'll find her, Glimmer,".

She could only nod, and pray that he was right, not even wanting to imagine the state Adora might be in. So, both teens sat there for a few moments, crying to themselves before Glimmer felt a new hand rest on her shoulder, flinching slightly at the sudden touch, not exactly expecting to face her mother when she turned around.

The Queen's expression was unreadable, but it was clear that she'd witnessed the whole ordeal from a distance. Glimmer wasn't surprised, the guards must have told her about the confrontation in the square and the cause for her taking an initiative in resolving the situation on her own.

"You'll make a very good queen one day," she said, kneeling down in front of the princess, face still expressionless, "You handled that very well,".

Glimmer shook her head, pulling away from Bow as she fell into her mother's embrace, a sobbing, shaking mess. She didn't care about being queen anymore, all she cared about was finding Adora. "We need to go find her, mom," she begged, her words crackling through her tears, "We _have_ to find Adora, we just have to..".

"I know, my love," the queen replied, hugging her daughter tightly, a sense of worry hanging over her tone, "We'll find her, I promise".


	8. I'm Coming Home

Adora woke up with a gasp… at least, she tried to gasp. The noise that emitted from her throat sounded more like a strangled wheeze more than anything, and it felt the same way too. She didn't even bother trying to call out for help, already knowing that the feat would be useless and far too painful, just breathing hurt like hell.

She struggled to pull herself up, her arms wrapped protectively around her chest as she crawled over to a fallen stump for support, biting back yelps of pain with each move she made.

Everything hurt, and it took a few moments of harsh, ragged breathing for Adora to recompose herself just enough to take in her surroundings. It was obvious that she was in the Whispering Woods, vaguely remembering running in there to save her own skin, but the reason was a bit fuzzy, much like most of her thoughts at the moment. All she knew was that she was hurt, with cuts and bruises littered across her body with no real knowledge of why.

The last thing she remembered doing was walking on the outskirts of the village, planning to go visit Swift Wind… but something stopped her… something hurt her. Adora couldn't exactly remember there being a fight, but by the state she was in, it was pretty clear she'd lost. To who exactly remained a mystery, something that she wasn't exactly focused on finding out. The blond was more concerned about getting out of the woods and finding help.

She had no clue what time it was or how long she was unconscious (or why) so her plans to accompany Glimmer to the bakery again were out of the question. It was already late, the sun slowly slipping behind the trees and a cold chill settling in the air around her, so Adora could only assume that her friends had already realized her absences and begun searching for her...

If they even knew where she was…

It wasn't like a lot of people ran into the Whispering Woods for safety… the Whispering Woods was the exact opposite of safe, monsters and shadows lurking around every corner, ready to attack injured and unsuspecting trespassers. Besides, she couldn't protect herself, pretty sure that she'd dropped her sword upon her escape from the village as the weapon was nowhere to be found around her.

Of course, Adora knew the logical thing to do was stay where she was and hope that someone would find her and get her back to Bright Moon, knowing full and well that Glimmer and Bow would have a search party out for her by now. But logic wasn't really an option now, all the blonde really wanted to do was go home… get help, find her sword and try to remember why she was so injured with no memory of what happened.

She needed to know what happened.

She hated not knowing what happened to her.

"I need to go home," Adora muttered weakly, struggling and whimpering as she forced herself up to her feet, failing to hold back cries of pain as she clutched her side again, tears slowly running down her cheeks. The pain refused to subside, so all she could do was power through and hope she could get herself out of the woods alive. "I need to go home," she muttered again.

Adora wasn't even sure how far she'd gotten before her knees finally buckled and she fell to the brush and bramble of the forest, gasping and curling up in pain. Clearly, her injuries were a bit more severe that she'd originally thought and she knew that she was going to need help… and soon. Slowly, Adora broke down in tears, once again lying on the cold hard floor of the Whispering Woods.

"Glimmer..." she called out, her voice far too soft for anyone to really hear.

*But nobody came...

"Bow?".

*But nobody came...

Adora couldn't hold back a small sob anymore.

"I- I need help…".

*But nobody came…

She continued to cry, unsure if her mind had begun playing tricks on her, but the blonde could have sworn she saw the shadow of a person walk up to her just as she lost consciousness.

* * *

It was a small group of boys that approached her, most of them looking a few years younger than herself. Adora had noticed them following her around, doing her best to ignore them considering all her previous training made her highly aware and wary of their presence. So when they finally came up to her, she was already tense and suspicious. Besides, it wasn't like she had much experience talking to kids.

"Um… hi," she said, waving at the group shyly, not really sure what else to say. Kids were still somewhat foreign to her, having never truly interacted with any in the Fright Zone. And usually, only smaller kids came up and followed her around, bombarding her with questions until they ran out or she got overwhelmed and Glimmer and Bow came to her rescue. But these kids were older and just looked at her, eyeing the sword she had strapped to her back with what she could only describe as malicious intent.

"That's a cool sword," one said.

Adora nodded, subconsciously taking a small step back, "Thank… you?".

"Can we hold it?"

It was a question she got often when traveling to villages that hardly knew her origins, only knowing that she was She-Ra, and the answer was always the same, especially when small children asked. But by the looks of these kids, she could tell that they were up to something.

"No… sorry. It's not a toy".

That, apparently, was the wrong answer because the taller and seemingly older boy stepped closer to her, not at all pleased with her reply. "Just hand over the sword, Horde Soldier," he said, "We don't want any trouble, but we can very easily make some,".

Just hearing someone call her by her former title was enough to make her wince and cringe with regret, but the threat scared her too, already knowing that there would be no way for her to defend herself if they decided to try and harm her. "I- I'm not a Horde Soldier," Adora muttered sternly, clutching the sword again, "And you can't have it. I'm not a threat to you… or anyone in Etheria. I'm here to help, so please, leave me alone".

One of the smaller boys scoffed, "You're not here to help us, you're just a spy!".

"Yeah! That's what my dad says," another chimed in, "You're just here to get close to the princess so you can give intel back to the Horde!".

"That's not true! I- I'm not a spy,", the blonde said, lowering her voice when she realized that she had yelled, "I'm not part of the Horde,".

That just seemed to aggravate the group more, the older boy walking up to her with an expression of pure determination. "You don't deserve a weapon after what you did to my people… to my family!" he exclaimed, looking like he was getting ready to fight, "Now hand it over!".

It didn't take a lot for her to realize what the boy was going on about, an immediate sense of guilt settling over her. "I- … I'm sorry," Adora said, trying to sound as sincere as she could, even though she knew it wouldn't change anything, "I'm so sorry,".

He didn't want an apology, this boy wanted a fight, something that the blonde, unfortunately, understood and couldn't exactly blame him for either. She knew how important family was, and understood how much it hurt to have all that stripped away, Glimmer's sad and distant gaze whenever she looked at her father's mural was enough to tell her that.

So when the first punch was thrown, Adora didn't even bother trying to dodge it (but, in her defense… it wasn't a very good hit), knowing that it would do her more harm than good trying to defend herself. Thankfully she caught herself before she hit the ground, much to the boy's dismay, and silently got back up. A large red mark was growing on her cheek as she faced the boys again, stumbling slightly as she tried to steady herself.

"I can do this all day,".

The boy just looked at her, seeming to get even angrier as he threw another punch, but this time the blonde's instincts kicked in and she easily stepped out of the way, watching as he unceremoniously flew forward, landing with a small thud on the ground beside her.

Adora held back a chuckle slightly, hearing the other boy's do the same, struggling to muffle their giggles as the oldest boy clambered to his feet, basically fuming at that point.

"You don't have to do this," she said, "I don't want to fight you!"

But the boy wasn't having it...

"You're going to pay for that!" he yelled, tackling the blonde to the floor, "You're going to pay for what you did to my mom!"

She barely had time to react, and even if she did, it wasn't like she could fight back. Both teens fell to the ground, the boy getting a few good hits in before Adora managed to cover her face, at least using the bare minimum of self-preservation techniques. While she couldn't return the attack, that didn't mean she couldn't protect herself from them.

"I'm not the one you should be fighting!" she yelled, "Stop it!".

It was no surprise when they didn't stop, but somehow she managed to push the older boy off of her, doing her best to scramble away to safety. She didn't make it too far, tripping a few steps away as she lost her balance, wincing when the other boys took her momentary incapacitation to their advantage and started kicking at her sides, sending waves of pain through her body

Things started to blur from there, the pain slowly mixing in with numbness, and at one point, Adora was aware of the smallest of boys reaching down and snagging the sword away from her, that seemed to be their only goal. Roughing her up just seemed to be a bonus for the older boy, payback for what her former army did to his mother.

"I got it!" the smaller boy exclaimed, holding the weapon up like a trophy, "let's bail!".

The two smaller boys began running off, only pausing when the older boy didn't follow. Adora could see him standing above her through blurred vision, still seething with anger, his knuckles bruised and bloodied from the unfair fight.

"I'm sorry," she said weakly, curling herself into a small protective ball. Even though she knew that she had no reason feeling responsible for the lives that were taken far before she was made aware of the Horde's actions, it didn't stop her from feeling the slightest bit guilty. "I'm sorry…".

The boy just stared at her, seeming confused and infuriated, unsure of which emotion to listen to as she apologized. It looked like he was about to say something, opening and closing his mouth a few times as he searched for the right words, but he never got the chance to say it. Another loud bellowing voice tore through the silence, causing everyone, including Adora, to freeze. It was, of course, a guard, having had been passing by when they heard all the commotion.

"HEY!" they yelled, rushing up to the scene.

The younger boys go stiff and look at each other before running off with the blonde's sword, already knowing that sticking around would lead to more trouble. But the older boy stayed beside her for a moment longer, looking towards the guard before kicking Adora one more time, knocking the wind right out of her.

"You should run while you can, Horde soldier," he said before joining the others, "I told you we'd make trouble".

It was stupid of her to think she could go through the village alone, already knowing that nearly everyone in Bright Moon didn't trust her... perhaps she had just put too much faith in people who didn't even trust her.

Adora didn't bother trying to get up, being in too much pain and far too ashamed of herself to even move. She should have known better, she should have just waited and gone with Glimmer and Bow like always. They would have protected her… her friends wouldn't have let anyone hurt her. "You're such an idiot, Adora," she muttered bitterly, "Such an idiot…".

The guard finally approached, watching as the boys turned tail and disappeared into the village without bothering to give chase as they made off with her sword. "Damn hooligans are fast!" they exclaimed, sighing as they looked down at her, "You okay there kid?".

Adora nodded, biting back a yelp of pain.

She really wasn't.

Her vision was still blurred and her head throbbed along to the beat of her heart, a harsh wheezing sound emitting from her throat each time she took a breath. There was absolutely no way she could get out of going to see a healer… she'd basically become a regular customer at that point.

"Those boys roughed you up something fierce, eh?" they said, pulling her up gently by the arm, not yet realizing that she was the infamous 'horde soldier' everyone was warned about, "Don't worry kid, I'll find 'em and… wait…".

And there it was…

The guard let go of her arm immediately, letting Adora tumbles to the ground again. "You! What are you doing out here alone, Horde Soldier!?" they demanded, drawing their own sword on her, "Did you try to hurt those boys?!".

"N- no!" she exclaimed, struggling to get herself upright as she tried to catch her breath, "They attacked me, a-and stole my sword!".

"Then you must have done something to provoke them. It was probably self-defense!".

"I didn't do anything, I swear! And I wouldn't… I'm here to help!".

While nearly everyone in Bright Moon knew she was the new She-Ra, there to save all of Etheria from the Horde's evil grasp, no one could forget the fact that they were the ones who raised her.

"I don't buy your little word games, spy!" the guard yelled, "What the hell were you doing sneaking around the village anyways, huh? Getting intel? Trying to find weaknesses in our defenses?!".

All Adora could do was blink in utter confusion.

"What? I… I live here, this is my home, why would I-".

She didn't get to finish her sentence, gasping sharply as the guard suddenly picked her up again, this time nearly lifting her completely off the ground. "This isn't your home, it never has been and it never will be. You may have deceived the princess with your lies and trickery, but not me. You aren't welcome here anymore, so you better just leave before I bring you to the queen myself and make sure you're disposed of for what you've done. Have I made myself clear?".

The blonde nodded vigorously, trying not to struggle in the guards grasp considering she'd been dreading this moment since her arrival to Bright Moon, "Yes, ma'am,".

With that, the guard let her go, watching as she fell to the ground with a heavy pained thud, "Then get out of my face… and don't bother trying to come back,".

Adora nodded again, scrambling to her feet as tried to get away from the guard as fast as she could, already hearing more voices coming their way. It hurt to breathe, it hurt to move, and the blonde did her best to ignore the overwhelming pain she was in, pushing through the bushes and leaves of the forest, putting as much distance between her and Bright Moon as possible.

She didn't want to run away, leave her friends behind like she did once before, but… perhaps Light Hope was right… maybe having ties to the people she was trying to protect would only make things more difficult. Her short time in Bright Moon was proof enough of that.

So Adora didn't stop running until everything went black.

* * *

 _Adora..._

 _Adora…._

 _You need to wake up now, Adora._

 _Your friends still need you…_

 _You need to go home..._

 _Wake up…._

 _Wake up, Adora…_

* * *

Adora blinked a few times as she slowly came to, the voice in her head slowly fading away. It was the same voice she'd heard when she was sick, still unsure why it was so familiar, yet at the same time… so foreign. After a moment, she realized that the world around her was much brighter than it was previously, and the blonde could only assume she'd somehow managed to survive the night in the Whispering Woods unharmed. But, as things finally came into focus, the blonde realized she wasn't in the woods at all… but in a hut of some sort.

Confusion set in at that point, but, after a moment of scanning her environment, the Adora realized where she was, sighing softly in relief that at least someone found her, even if she now knew that someone lived quite a ways away from Bright Moon.

All she really cared about was that she finally felt safe.

Taking a moment to recompose herself, Adora sighed and carefully sat up, wincing again as a dull pain spread through her chest and sides. While it was nowhere near the amount of pain she was in last night, it still hurt…a lot... but at least this pain was more tolerable. It was slowly becoming clear what had happened to result in her waking up in the small hut, but it wasn't something she was ready to face just yet.

So gathering up what strength she still had, Adora got to her feet and staggered over to the small cloth door leading outside the hut, already hearing a small familiar voice milling about, humming softly to herself.

"Hi... Razz," she muttered warmly, watching as the older woman jumped in surprise at the sound of her voice, turning to her with an excited and relieved smile.

"Oh, dearie! You're awake!" Razz exclaimed, walking up to offer her some support as she continued to stagger forward, "I've been so worried that you wouldn't wake up!".

Adora chuckled softly, gently leaning her weight onto the smaller woman's shoulder. "I… I'm okay now, I think. Just sore at this point… but I'll heal,".

"You will, dearie, you're strong… just like my Mara," she said, gesturing to a few gnarly tree roots nearby, "Now come, sit down and rest, you're still injured,"

She nodded and obeyed, subtly clutching her side as she settled herself down on the stump, watching as the older woman brought over a stool and sat in front of her. It still made her curious about how Razz knew Mara since… she lived so many years ago, and was the previous She-Ra on an entirely different planet but, those were questions for another time.

"How do you feel, dear? You've been asleep for a while,".

"I'm… I'm better than I was before you found me," Adora replied, absently rubbing her sore sides, "You probably saved my life, Razz, thank you,".

"No need to thank me, dearie. I'm just glad I found you when I did!" she smiled, "but… what were you doing out here injured and all on your own? So far from home, I might add,".

The blonde looked away again, and sighed. How could she explain that she'd been beaten up for no other reason than her past? That the people she'd sworn to protect wanted nothing to do with her? That she ran off to hide in the woods instead of standing up for herself? How she was terrified about returning to Bright Moon despite knowing that her friends were worried sick about her? What could she say?

"I… got into a fight…" was all she could come up with, "One I couldn't win".

Razz frowned sympathetically, reaching over and patting Adora on the shoulder, "All fights can be won, dearie… you just have to know what skills to use,".

That… helped, Adora figured, offering the older woman a small smile. "I'll keep that in mind for next time, Razz. *sigh* If there even is a next time,".

Now it was Razz's turn to look confused. She pushed her glasses up to the bridge of her nose and just stared at the girl, "Whatever do you mean, dearie? There is always going to be the next time. The world is full of second chances".

The blonde sighed again and shook her head softly, trying to hold back the tears that resurfaced from the night before. "N- not for me, apparently…" she mumbled, "I-... I don't think I can go home, Razz, I don't think I'd be welcomed there anymore. People just see me as a threat, they think I'm just going to put people in danger, that's what everyone keeps saying. And... I'm starting to think that… maybe they're right".

The older woman sighed softly, seeming lost in her thoughts for a moment as she pushed her glasses up to the bridge of her nose. "You sound just like my Mara did, dearie...".

Adora nodded, remembering Light Hope's description of the former Sh-Ra, and how she snapped, ultimately stranding Etheria in the empty dimension of Despondos (whatever that meant).

"-You sound crazy,".

She blinked, both confused and surprised by the woman's words, "Excuse me?"

"You're not a danger to anyone, you're She-Ra! No matter what anyone tells you, you're here to help all people! Even those who don't yet realize they need help themselves. The connections you make and the friends you have are what make you strong, my dear, they are what make you Adora,".

Maybe that was true… and maybe Light Hope was right… and at that point, Adora herself was too confused and conflicted to decide which one she thought was right and which one was wrong. But, in the end, she did know what she wanted to do… it might not be the most logical choice, but it's what her heart was telling her to do.

"I can't tell you what you need to do, Adora. That is for you to figure out, but… I suspect you already know what the right thing to do is… yes?".

Adora sighed and nodded, sure she was scared about returning to Bright Moon after being basically threatened with death if she ever returned… but, she couldn't just abandon another set of friends. She needed Glimmer and Bow, far more than she realized.

"I… I want to go home," she muttered.

"Then go home, dearie, to your friends… your family!" she said, smiling softly with encouragement.

As much as she wanted to go home, go back to Glimmer and Bow and all the other princesses, the blonde still hesitated, not wanting to test if the guard's threats were true. "But… what if the guards or… or the queen won't take me back… what if they…. -".

Razz just chuckled softly, "Oh, dearie… so many 'what if's'! You worry far too much about what might go wrong, instead of what might go right! You don't have to worry about that, Etheria needs She-Ra, but your friends need Adora more,".

* * *

After finally deciding on a course of action, and getting some vague directions from Razz, Adora set off towards Bright Moon, or at least, in the general direction of the kingdom. Despite the older woman's protests to stay and wait until she had healed some more, the blonde was determined to return home and not cause her friends anymore worry. It was difficult trudging through the Whispering Woods while still bruised and battered, but she managed, only having to pause every so often to catch her breath and rest.

It seemed that the only lasting injury she sustained from the fight had to do with the pain in her sides. Cuts and bruises would heal quickly… but this seemed a bit more severe. All the blonde could do was hope that Glimmer wouldn't be too cross with her for once again not being careful and getting herself hurt all over again.

There was, at least, some part of her that knew it wasn't her fault, and there was no reason Glimmer and Bow would be upset at her, but Adora still couldn't help feeling guilty and responsible for the bad things that happened that were out of her control. She still had a lot to learn, or rather, things to unlearn now that she was no longer under the toxic control of the Horde.

After a few hours of aimless wandering, not exactly sure which direction to go, the blonde leaned herself up against a tree, allowing herself to slide down to the base, exhausted and somehow feeling more lost than she was before. She had a vague Idea of where Bright Moon was supposed to be, having spent many days riding around on Swift Wind and scanning the kingdom as well as the Whispering Woods, but… as it turns out, Adora didn't know the area as well as she'd thought.

She crossed her arms and sighed, frustrated and afraid. As much as she hated admitting defeat, even she couldn't think of a way out of the situation. "If I had my sword, I wouldn't be in this mess!" the blonde muttered, half-heartedly punching the tree, "If I hadn't decided to be brave and go out alone none of this would have happened,".

For a while Adora just sat there, listening to unnatural silence of the woods around her. Since the Battle of Bright Moon, the Whispering Woods were still frozen over and the land was taking it's time to heal. Even Perfuma's magic couldn't undo the damage the Horde had done, at least not this time. Sure there was the occasional sound of a bird or the wind passing through the leaves, but there was nothing more than that, the monsters she'd seen and been told so much about were nowhere to be found.

It was slightly unnerving, to say the least.

So Adora just tried to focus on the silence, anything to distract herself from the emotions whirling around her mind. It didn't help that her head still hurt as well, the blonde summing it up to a concussion, it wasn't the first one she'd gotten, and it definitely wouldn't be the last at the rate she was going. Plus, there was an annoying echo in the back of her head, one that sounded like it was calling out her name, but it was too far off and drawn out for her to make out who it was.

"Adora!".

At that point, she was used to funny voices in her head (like Light Hope and the other one from her dreams) but this… this one was different.

"Adora!".

It almost felt...

"Adora!".

Real.

"ADORA!".

Adora lifted her head up, suddenly alert as she began to recognize the voice. "Glimmer?" she muttered, pulling herself up off the ground with newfound energy, "Glimmer?!". Her voice was weak and still strained, but somehow strong enough to get a response from the princess who still sounded a good distance away.

"Adora?! Where are you!"

The blonde started off in the direction of the voice, once again staggering through the thicket with her arm still clutching her side, "I- I'm over here!" she called back, "I'm right here!".

Tears were already filling her eyes as she began to run towards Glimmer's voice, a wave of relief washing over her as she sounded closer and closer. For once Adora was able to ignore the pain in her side as she finally broke through the bushes into a small clearing, heaving for breath with tears blurring her vision.

"Glimmer?!" she cried, desperately looking around for the princess, "Where were you?!".

The other girl was quiet for a moment, only the sound of quick footsteps and crunching leaves filled the air before a small pink, sparkly figure broke out of the bushes from the direction Adora was headed and stood there, staring back at her with tear-filled eyes, "Adora?".

"Glimmer?".

Beyond that, neither girl said anything, both of them just looked at each other, panting hard from running through the forest for who knows how long. She wasn't sure who started moving first, but one second Adora was standing there, wheezing with her face covered in tears, and the next she was running towards the princess, crashing into her with such force that it nearly knocked the wind out of her.

"Adora! Oh, Adora… oh god, you're okay… you're okay… thank god you're okay," Glimmer cried, holding her in an unbelievably tight, yet welcomed hug.

Overwhelmed with emotions, Adora just started to sob, clutching onto the princess's small blue cape and burying her face in her fluffy pink hair. She didn't have the words to express how relieved she was to finally be found, to see Glimmer, to have her hold her again, it was all too much. All the blonde was able to force out was: "I'm sorry….".

The smaller girl pulled away from her almost immediately, much to Adora's dismay, and looked at her straight in the eye, "Don't you dare apologize for this… it wasn't your fault, okay? I'm just glad you're alive I was so worried about you,".

She nodded, eyes cast downwards as she tried desperately to hold back her tears and small yelps of pain, "I'm sorry…".

Glimmer sighed and sniffled, reaching up and gently placing her hand against the blonde's cheek, noting the small flinch in response to the gesture. But Adora didn't protest and Glimmer's hand stayed, her thumb gently tracing over the small bruises and cuts on her face.

"Don't ever disappear on me like that again," she whispered, leaning forward and pressing her forehead against Adora's, "I was so scared I'd lost you, I can't bear the thought of losing you,".

She let out a gentle sob, once again placing her hand over Glimmer's.

"Never," she muttered, "Y- You're never going to lose me".


	9. K

**_And I'm kissing you lying in my room_**  
 ** _Holding you until you fall asleep_**  
 ** _And it's just as good as I knew it would be_**  
 ** _Stay with me I don't want you to leave_**

* * *

"Adora?" Glimmer said, gently knocking on the door leading into the blonde's room, "Can… can I come in?".

There was no response… not that that surprised her. Considering everything Adora had just been through, the princess couldn't exactly blame her… she'd have also locked herself away if their positions were reversed. But it had already been a few hours since they returned to Bright Moon, and the other girl's silence was starting to become more and more concerning.

Glimmer first noticed Adora's peculiar behavior after the healer, once again patched her up and gave her a months worth of or mandatory bed rest. The princess had fully expected the blonde to protest, or even pout at the sentencing, but… the girl had just nodded compliantly and followed along silently as they made it back to the castle, where the rest of the princesses eagerly awaited their return. Even then, surrounded by her friends who were utterly relieved to see her safe return, the smaller girl could tell that something was wrong. Of course, she knew that the fight had been rather traumatizing for her friend, but… there seemed to be something else bothering her, something else she was hiding.

But Adora being Adora… the princess knew that it would take some prying to figure out just what it was. All she could do was hope that the blonde trusted her enough to open up about whatever that was.

"You just… kinda disappeared after the council meeting, Bow and I were really worried about you," she continued, "I'm… I'm really worried about you,". Much to her annoyance, Angella had called for a meeting to discuss what had happened, and for some reason dragged Adora into it as well. She figured it had to do with returning her sword, but… she couldn't be too sure.

Still, the room on the other side of the door was eerily silent.

In truth, Glimmer hadn't been able to stop worrying, even though Adora was back home, safe and sound, albeit still injured. A concussion and a few bruised ribs didn't even seem to faze the blonde, the girl insisting that she was fine and had far worse injuries from training in the Fright Zone. Part of her really hoped that that was a lie, but given how much Adora herself didn't know/remember about the Horde's methods, she had her doubts.

With a heavy sigh, Glimmer leaned her head against the cold wooden door, wishing she could do something to get the other girl to open up… literally and metaphorically. She didn't want to cry anymore, she'd spent hours crying while Adora was still missing, and cried even harder when she found her, but the tears came anyway and the princess struggled to keep herself together.

"Please, Adora," she mumbled, "I just… I need to hear you say that you're okay. I'll leave you alone after that, i just need to hear you say it,".

But her words went seemingly unheard, the only response she got was that of her own voice echoing through the empty hallway.

"Please…" the princess said, unsure if she would ever be able to express how worried she was without revealing her true feelings… but maybe it was worth a try. "I need you, Adora… I need you here, with me ,".

Nothing changed, and Glimmer stood in silence, alone in her misery. She slowly wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to comfort her fraying nerves. Adora would come to her when she was ready, something the smaller girl knew she couldn't force, but it killed her inside not knowing what was ailing her dearest friend.

The world just seemed to have it out for the girl who was only trying to do some good

With one last sniffle, Glimmer finally pulled away from the door in defeat, only to pause a few steps away.

" Please don't cry… " a small voice muttered from behind the door, a shuffling sound following soon after, "I… don't want you to cry,".

Glimmer choked on a sob and chuckled, relieved to hear her friend finally respond, even if it was only a few words. "Huh, I'll stop once you come out," she teased softly, dragging her arm across her face, "Are… are you okay? Like, actually okay?".

There was a long pause, the princess worrying that she'd been too upfront and scared the blonde away, but, after a moment Adora sighed and continued. " At this point, I'm not really sure what qualifies as okay anymore… " she admitted, "But yeah, I'm okay,... kinda,".

That was about what she had expected, it was clear that Adora was still pretty shaken up. "Can… Can I come in? It's okay if you want to be alone, I just… I just...", Glimmer left her voice trail off, unsure of how to continue. Thankfully, she didn't have to because, after a few moments, the door in front of her gently creaked open, revealing the tall blonde standing behind it.

Her arm was still wrapped protectively around her chest, a few bandages adorning her forearms and bruises covering her cheek. She looked tired too, darkish bags hanging under her light blue eyes. Adora didn't say anything at first, just stared back at the princess before dropping her gaze back to the floor.

"Hey…".

"Hey…" she replied.

Another few moments of silence passed as Adora shifted nervously on her feet, seeming unsure of how to carry on with the conversation, but Glimmer was more than glad continue talking even if her friend struggled, she was just happy to see that the blonde was okay.

"How.. how are you holding up? Are you in any pain?".

"I'm managing," she admitted, "Sore… and a bit bruised, you know… the usual,".

The princess chuckled dryly before sighing, hesitating with her next sentence, but it was something they'd eventually have to talk about. "I'm… I'm so sorry this happened to you, Adora," she said, her voice shaking slightly as she recounted the last two days in her head, "It shouldn't have happened and I'm so sorry I wasn't there to stop it. They… those boys… they could have-". Glimmer paused, choking back yet another sob as she forced the words out. "They could have killed you…".

That seemed to take Adora by surprise, a look of shock and confusion adorning her face. "Wha- what are you talking about? Glim… you… you don't have to worry about that. Not for a long time, at least. I'm not going anywhere, it'll take a lot more than a few rowdy kids to take me down…".

Optimism was a hell of a drug, but considering everything else the girl had gone through and survived, Glimmer couldn't exactly argue.

"I- I'm going to hold you to that," she teased softly taking a few steps forward before wrapping her arms around Adora, gently pressing her head against the taller girl's chest, "I was so scared I lost you,".

The blonde gladly returned the gesture, resting her chin atop her fluffy pink hair as they embraced. "I know…" she whispered, holding her tightly, "I'm the one who should be sorry… If I'd just… If I'd just waited for you instead of trying to be brave and go off on my own, none of this would have happened,".

"I already told you it wasn't your fault, Adora," Glimmer said, pulling away for a moment, "None of this was your fault".

Adora didn't say anything in return, she just looked away again in something close to shame. Of course, Glimmer knew that her friend blamed herself for what happened but… the feeling that something else happened still stuck with her.

"Tell me the truth, Adora," she whispered, keeping her voice steady and low, "What really happened that day?".

The princess really didn't expect a response, but after a long pause, the blonde sighed and stepped away, gesturing to her room. "Um… why don't you come inside, it's… it's a long story. Plus... I don't really want to be alone anymore and I could really use the company,".

As much as she wanted it to, Adora's words did little to ease her worries, so Glimmer nodded silently as she followed the other girl into her room, her mind racing with possible situations that those boys could have put her through.

"You… you really don't have to talk about this if you don't want to," she said, already knowing that this wasn't going to be easy for either of them, "I don't want to force you to do anything you're not comfortable with".

"It's fine, Glimmer," Adora muttered, not very convincingly, "I- I want to tell you… It's just…".

"Difficult?".

The blonde nodded as she sat down on the edge of her bed, immediately pulling her knees up to her chest, "Yeah… something like that,".

"It's okay, Adora," the princess responded, sitting beside her, "I'm right here… you can take as long as you want, just… talk when you feel ready, okay?".

"...Okay,".

So, for the next few minutes, both girls sat in silence while the blonde slowly began to open up and begin to talk about the occurrences of the previous few days. "I really don't even know what happened, to be honest. All I really remember is going to the stables to visit Swift Wind and-".

After a pause, Glimmer reached over and placed a reassuring hand on the other girl's knee. "It's okay… mom and I dealt with the boys, they won't bother you again, okay? You're safe,".

Adora responded with a weak smile and sighed, "Those boys… they, they aren't the ones I'm scared of, they aren't the reason I ran away…".

"Wha- What do you mean?".

She fell silent almost immediately and looked away.

"Tell me what happened…".

No response.

"Please… I want to help you,".

"One of the guards happened to stop the boys before they um… finished the job , but…" Adora whimpered slightly and mumbling her words, "It was the guard who'd been harassing me ever since I got here. They didn't realize it was me a first so… they were helpful and kind but… after they realized that I was the infamous Horde Soldier, they... they-".

It always made Glimmer's blood boil, as it always did when someone called her friend by her former and now meaningless title. What more did Adora have to do to earn some respect from the people of Bright Moon? She'd done more for the kingdom than any of the guards had combined, more for the entire planet than anyone else had in a thousand years!.

"They… they threatened me, said if I ever came back they'd be sure the queen had my head for what I did,".

That caught the princess completely off guard, the smaller girl having to do a double take to make sure she heard her correctly.

"I didn't do anything," Adora mumbled, tears threatening her eyes once more, "I've never done anything except… exist,".

"Existing isn't a crime! You should have come straight to me and I would have made sure they were punished for even saying that to you,".

The blonde shook her head and whimpered, "Glim… you don't understand. They were going to kill me, I had to run. I had no choice,"

With that statement, all of Glimmer's worry was replaced with sheer anger, there was no way she'd stand for that sort of behavior in her kingdom, absolutely no way. If she was going to take over the kingdom one day, she was going to have to start lying down the law, let people know that she wasn't just the carefree princess everyone took her for.

"Where… where are you going?" Adora asked, slight panic in her voice as Glimmer began to get up, determination glowing in her eyes.

"I'm going to take care of that guard. There's no way I'm going to let them get away with threatening you or anyone like that," she said, nearly out of reach before the blonde stopped her.

"Gim, please it's fine… you don't have to worry about that. It's-".

"Of course I'm going to worry about this Adora! Guards are supposed to be here to protect people, not put them in more danger, now just… let me handle this…".

"You're not listening. Glimmer, It's already been taken care of, we don't have to worry about them anymore. You… your mom helped me, what do you think that meeting was for? She knew something was up and… and she wanted to help me,".

Once again the smaller girl was taken aback, as far as she knew, her mother still had it out for Adora, still saw her as a potential threat. The person she was describing sounded nothing like her mother. "What?" she asked, quickly taking the blonde's hands again as she sat, "She… helped you?".

The other girl nodded and took a shaky breath, "She… she told me the guard reported that I tried to attack those boys, and they had to use force to drive me off. She knew that was a lie since… since she trusts you and knows that you'd never bring a dangerous person to Bright Moon. When I told her what really went down, your mom asked if anything else like this had happened before… so, I told her everything.".

Glimmer got the feeling that there were other times that Adora had been hassled by the guards, more than she was likely to admit.

"After that, she told me to wait here and not open the door for anyone since she was sure after she spoke to the guard they were going to have uh… have a thing or two to say to me," Adora continued, looking away slightly, "I- I wanted to go tell you what happened, I really did, I just… I- I couldn't. I'm so sorry, Glimmer,".

"Don't you dare apologize for that, Adora," the princess whispered, reaching up and pressing her hand against the blonde's cheek, "It's okay… you're okay, I'm not mad. I could never be mad at you,".

A ghost of a smile pulled at the edges of Adora's lips as she just seemed to melt at the light touch. "I'm glad I'm home…" the blonde whispered after a moment, her voice struggling to remain level, "...with you,".

Glimmer's heart lurched in her chest at the blonde's words, a slight shock washing over her.

Perhaps, she thought.

Perhaps her feelings weren't just one-sided.

"And I'm glad you're back," she responded, finding her gaze drifting down to the other girl's lips.

The princess hadn't realized how close they were close again… just like last time, the desire to kiss Adora stronger than ever. She wondered if the blonde even knew what a kiss was, or what it meant but… at that moment, it really didn't matter to her.

Words just couldn't explain her feelings anymore… but maybe gesture could.

With hesitation and doubt running circles in her mind, Glimmer decided to go for it, just lean in and kiss the girl she felt so deeply for.

But, just like last time, the universe had other plans.

Before she was able to make her move, Adora pulled away and yawned, rubbing her eyes slightly as she pulled away.

"Sorry…" the blonde muttered, blushing slightly out of embarrassment, "It's… it's been a long day,".

Glimmer couldn't help but chuckle warmly even if things didn't turn out her way, Adora was just… too cute. "You must be exhausted, huh?", She asked, settling herself back down on the bed, "You really should rest… it'll make you feel better".

"I know, I'm just-".

"Worried?".

She blushed a little deeper.

"Yeah…".

"Well don't worry. I'm going to stay with you all night, okay?" the princess continued, offering her hand to the other girl, "As long as you're with me, I'll keep you safe, okay?".

Adora finally looked up at her after a moment, her light blue eyes shimmering in the dim light as she smiled, gently taking hold of her hand.

"Okay".


End file.
